Jerome's Return
by MasterMind 16X
Summary: It's been over a year since Jerome left the Charmed Ones. Now, with the Destroyer's release imminent, he must once again aid the Charmed Ones in their greatest battle yet. Will any of them survive the battle? Will Paige and Jerome finally get together, or will Jerome continue denying his emotions? Sequel to The Greatest Power. Rated T for violence.
1. Chapter 1

This story is the sequel to The Greatest Power. If you haven't read it, you need to in order to understand this story. It uses the same characters, concepts, etc. I can't guarantee that this story will be as good as its prequel, but who cares. It'll be good, and if you liked the later chapters in The Greatest Power, you'll probably like this story better anyway. Most of the story will take place right at the end of season five and in the beginning to middle of season six (I still haven't decided if Chris is going to be in the story or not, maybe you readers should help me decide). Unless I say otherwise at the beginning of the chapter, assume that's where it is.

This first chapter just summarizes Jerome's actions while the sisters basically continue along the canon plot. Not enough notable changes have been made to the canon plot from season four (The Greatest Power took place right after "A Knight to Remember," so after that story the series basically proceeded as it does in the show) so I won't be doing much about the sisters yet. This chapter will be almost entirely Jerome. This specific chapter takes place during the episode "The Day the Magic Died."

Chapter 1:

It had been over a year since Jerome had left the sisters. Even in all that time, he never stopped thinking about them. Paige especially. Not a day went by when their well-being hadn't crossed his mind. With the Destroyer's release imminent, Jerome had been extremely busy. He was desperately searching for a way to stop the Destroyer, a way to prevent his rise for another couple hundred years. He couldn't. There was nothing he could do to stop the Destroyer. There was nothing anyone could do. His escape was unavoidable.

Jerome was doing everything he could to to track the Destroyer's progress, to keep an eye on His prison. Jerome saw the progress He was making. Jerome knew that at the rate the Destroyer was going, he would break free and damage the Obelisk of Magic. The Obelisk of Magic was the source of all the world's magic, and if it went down all magic in the world would go down with it. The Angel's of Destiny had their own obelisk to power their magic, and the Defenders likewise had an obelisk to fuel their magic. The rest of the world, however, would lose everything.

However, there was a glimmer of hope. The Prophecy of the Twice-Blessed Child spoke of a day when magic died. Jerome knew that this meant the Obelisk of Magic would either be forced into inactivity or it would be damaged. If the child spoken of in the prophecy could, in fact, restore magic to the world, then that day, the predicted day that magic died, would have to be the day the Destroyer got out. If Jerome timed everything correctly, he would be able to save the Obelisk of Magic from being irreparably damaged and he would be able to postpone the Destroyer's release, at least for a little while.

However, in order to release the Destroyer at the right moment he would need help. He would need two other Defenders. Either Paul and Marissa or Daniel and Benjamin. Paul hated him, and Benjamin was his brother. It was a difficult decision, but eventually Jerome decided on Daniel and Benjamin. They were on the Council, and held far more respect than either Paul or Marissa. Jerome started calling for them.

Jerome saw two figures Flicker in front of him. One was his dark haired, slightly shorter than Jerome brother. The other was older, white haired Daniel. "Hello, Jerome," Daniel said.

"Listen, I need your help. We all know that the Destroyer's release is imminent, however I may know of a way to at least stall him, and save the Obelisk of Magic in the process," Jerome said.

"To the point as ever, brother. The Obelisk of Magic is the weakest of the four obelisks we erected, and arguably the most valuable," Benjamin said.

"Indeed. The world needs magic to remain in balance and for the Grand Design to run its course. If it were destroyed, the imbalance would offset the Grand Design so much that we would have no choice but to Ascend and restore it," Daniel said. "How do you propose we save the Obelisk of Magic?"

"We won't. The Twice-Blessed Child will," Jerome said.

"What?" Benjamin asked.

"There was a day predicted when magic would die. A day that is nearly upon us. On this day, we release the Destroyer from his prison. He will damaged the Obelisk of Magic. All we would need to do is keep him in the realm he was imprisoned in until the child is born. The child's birth will restore the Obelisk of Magic and strengthen it tenfold," Jerome said.

"And how does that stall the Destroyer's release? It sounds like you're trying to speed it up," Daniel asked, though he thought he saw where Jerome was going.

"The Sealing Obelisk and the Obelisk of Magic are linked together. As long as we keep the Destroyer in His realm, near the Sealing Obelisk, the restoration of the Obelisk of Magic will force him back to the Sealing Obelisk, and keep him there for a little while at least," Jerome said.

"That may work. But the even with the extra power, the obelisk won't hold Him for very long. We'd have two years, at best, until He gets back out," Benjamin said.

"And that's two more years for us to prepare to fight Him and seal Him away again. The other alternative is to let Him escape now and destroy everything," Jerome said.

Daniel and Benjamin looked at each other for a while. Daniel turned to look at Jerome and said "Very well."

Benjamin turned and said "We will help."

Excisio knew what the Defenders were planning. He wasn't foolish by a long shot. He knew that all He had to do was look like He was giving escape everything He had, when in all reality He would barely be trying. He knew that even if He gave it everything He had, the Defenders would be able to hold Him back long enough for the child to repair the Obelisk of Magic and for Him to be sealed away again. And if He fought with less ferocity, less power than He had, the Defenders would think He was far weaker than He truly was. None of the Defenders coming for Him had fought him before. If He allowed themselves to believe He was weaker, then when He did break out again, they would be far less prepared. His escape and domination would be far easier. All He had to do was wait and play along.

The Day the Magic Died finally arrived. Jerome, Daniel, and Benjamin went to the Destroyer's realm. He was chained to the Sealing Obelisk by golden shackles that glowed with sacred power. Jerome saw the Obelisk of Magic in the distance. Daniel and Benjamin walked towards the Destroyer. "What's this?" He asked. "Three Defenders come to visit me in this desolate realm? Are you here to give up?"

Jerome turned to the speaker and saw the horrifying figure chained to the obelisk. The Destroyer was a huge creature with black skin and huge muscles. He had two long spikes protruding from the back of His head, horrible, monstrous eyes that glowed a wicked red, long claws that protruded from each of His fingertips, and a slightly elongated face with vicious fangs. He emitted an aura of pure, raw power and destruction. "No," Jerome said. "We're here to release you."

The Destroyer feigned a look of surprise. "Now, why would you do that?" He asked.

In response Benjamin and Daniel shot powerful blasts of pure energy at the chains that held the Destroyer in place. The chains began to glow brighter. Jerome started chanting "By the power of water, earth, and fire, with all the might of His desire, release the Destroyer and all His ire." The chains shattered.

The Destroyer stood and waved His hand over the Obelisk of Magic in the distance. Even from as far away as they were, Jerome, Daniel, and Benjamin could hear the sound of stone shattering and feel the trembling of it. They saw the Obelisk of Power crack and crumble, though most of the structure stood. Had the Destroyer done nothing the Obelisk of Magic would have grown more powerful than he would have liked upon the birth of the Twice-Blessed Child. Had He completely destroyed it, then the Sealing Obelisk would have filled the role as the source of the world's magic upon the birth of the Twice-Blessed Child, and the Sealing Obelisk was too strong for even the Destroyer to damage.

The Destroyer turned towards the three Defenders and stared at them. Time flowed much differently in the desolate realm they were in, so there was no telling how long they would be in there. "So, tell me, Segravit-" Daniel started.

"No," the Destroyer interrupted. "I no longer use that name. This is a new era, a new age." Talking would work well enough at biding time without showing His power. "It is deserving of a new name. For this era I shall be known as Excisio. I am destruction, obliteration, and ruin."

"Very well, Excision, what do you plan on doing now that you're free?" Daniel asked.

"Foolish Defender. You think my motives would change so easily? I am not like you. I have only one motive: destruction. I will never change," the Destroyer said.

"Then we will stop you," Benjamin said. He and Daniel blasted the Destroyer with every ounce of power they had. They Destroyer felt nothing, but in order to make them believe He was far weaker than He actually was, He took the fall and fell back.

Jerome watched, powerless to help. The Destroyer got back on His feet and blasted Daniel and Benjamin with black lightning. Benjamin and Daniel were invincible, but the black lightning seemed to bypass their invincibility. They were sent flying away from the Destroyer. Jerome drew his sword and rushed the Destroyer. Jerome held his sword high and dropped it on the Destroyer's head. The sword bounced off. The Destroyer grabbed Jerome's sword. The Destroyer's hand glowed with a dark light. Jerome's sword disintegrated. The Destroyer kicked Jerome in the gut, pushing him back several feet.

"You cannot defeat me," the Destroyer said. The Obelisk of Magic in the distance glowed and was covered in Orbs. The Orbs faded and left the Obelisk of Magical, completely repaired and whole. The Sealing Obelisk began to glow. The Obelisk of Magic also started glowing. A beam of golden light appeared at the top of each of the obelisks. The two beams shot towards the Destroyer's hands. Golden shackles formed where the beams hit. The beams changed to chains and the chains pulled the Destroyer back, dangling Him between the two obelisks. He roared in rage.

Jerome, Daniel, and Benjamin all Flashed away. They appeared in the middle of the Sahara. "Thank you for your help," Jerome said.

"You're welcome. Marthis will be furious, but he'll get over it," Benjamin said.

"We'll talk him out of it. He won't stay mad for long, especially if we tell him it prolonged the Destroyer's escape," Daniel said.

Daniel and Benjamin Flickered back to the Garden. Jerome Shimmered back to his cave. The Charmed Ones didn't need him. Not yet.

Author's Note:

The first chapter of the sequel! The next chapter will be set quite a bit further in season five. Please, leave a review telling me your opinions on this chapter and whether I should bring Chris into the story or not.


	2. Chapter 2

This chapter takes place near the end of season five, maybe a few weeks before the events of "Oh My Goddess!"

Chapter 2:

Jerome needed a new sword. He had gone several months without one, since the Destroyer destroyed his other one. There were a few magical swords he could probably find, if he looked hard enough. He knew of Excalibur, but that sword was destined to another. Besides, getting his hands on Excalibur would be extremely difficult. There were probably others laying around that he could take. Sharpening his old sword was always a pain to do, maybe he could find one that doesn't dull. That would be nice.

Jerome knew of one sword hidden deep in an ancient Mayan pyramid. It had no name, nor did it need one. It was a black blade with a golden hilt. The blade never dulled, and the hilt gave the wielder enhanced grip, making it far more difficult to disarm. That sword would do.

The pyramid was protected by a powerful web of magic that only allowed entrance by sand teleportation. Luckily Jerome had the power to teleport in any way he pleased. Jerome sand teleported into the main room in the pyramid. He thought about just blasting his way through the pyramid, but that would be extremely suspicious. Instead, he made his way through the pyramid, taking each chamber, trap, and trial at a time.

* * *

The Charmed Ones hadn't had any demons attack them since Wyatt's Wiccaning. They were enjoying the lack of demonic activity as much as they could with an infant in the house. Wyatt had recently started sleeping all the way trough the night. Everyone in the Halliwell household was relieved. They were finally able to sleep.

Jerome had never stopped thinking of them, and they never truly forgot him. Paige, especially, remembered him. Not a day went by when Paige didn't think about him. And Paige had a lot of time to think. She had quit her job to dedicate her time to learning and mastering witchcraft. She had been at it for almost a year. She was getting extremely bored. She had already read the entire Book of Shadows three times. She had gotten almost as good as Piper at making potions and almost as good as Phoebe at writing spells. There was very little left she could do. As a result, she had way too much free time. Nothing good ever came on TV before six, Piper and Leo were always busy with Wyatt or at P3, and Phoebe had to work. All of Paige's other friends had jobs, and worked all day.

Luckily, Paige didn't have to be alone that day. Phoebe had the day off, Wyatt was happy in his crib, which gave Piper and Leo a break, and they were all hanging out at the manor, as a family. It was around three in the afternoon, and the family was watching a movie. Phoebe felt it first. The earth began shaking, and within seconds Piper and Phoebe had everyone safely under tables. Wyatt was not only in Piper's arms under a table, but he also had his force field up. The shaking lasted only a few seconds. They waited a few minutes for aftershocks, then carefully came out into the open. "Is everyone okay?" Piper asked.

"Yeah, we're all okay," Phoebe replied.

* * *

Jerome also felt the earthquake. He was in the bottom chamber of the pyramid and had just claimed the sword he was after when it hit. It wasn't a very big one, maybe a 1.3 on the Richter Scale, but it's significance was huge. It was an earthquake felt all around the world. It was just a shadow of what was to come. The Titans were awakening, and it was time Jerome returned to the sisters.

Jerome didn't bother getting out the normal way. He used his Flickering to brute force his way past the barrier around the pyramid. Flickering was the best way to brute force any kind of teleportation barrier, as it went several times in quick succession, each time hitting with a large amount of force. He Flickered to the manor.

Paige noticed Jerome Flicker into the kitchen. She was on her way upstairs when she saw his form appear and disappear in rapid succession. He appeared, and stayed, and Paige shouted his name with joy. She was so glad to see him.

"Jerome?" Piper asked. She, Phoebe, and Leo came running into the kitchen to see Jerome, standing there. They were all glad to see him, even Phoebe, who had trusted and liked him the least.

Jerome, however, was completely unaware of their joy. "You probably want to blow me up or something after what I did-" Jerome started.

Jerome was cut off by a group hug from the three sisters. "Jerome, we're not angry anymore. You saved our lives, you gave everything you had into protecting us. How could we be angry?" Paige asked.

"I killed Prue," Jerome stated.

"Yeah, you killed one sister and saved three. The numbers are currently in you favor. If you kill two more of us, then we'll have a problem," Piper said with a grin.

After the initial reunion Jerome had one question he had to ask. "Paige, what happened to your hair?" he asked.

Paige's hair was shorter than he remembered, and it was red. "Oh, potion accident," Paige replied.

"Ah," Jerome said. Jerome looked around and said "You are probably wondering what I'm doing here."

Then Paige remembered Jerome's final words. "Oh, you said you wouldn't come back until we need you. I guess something really bad's coming our way, huh?" Paige asked.

"Yes. I won't tell you what it is, the Angels of Destiny have made it very clear that I can't tell you about this next threat, but when it comes, I'll be here, fighting by your side," Jerome said.

"Can we have a hint?" Phoebe asked.

Jerome looked at her and replied "One. Think of the weakest demon you have ever encountered. Compared to this new threat, Amenti looks even weaker than that demon."

The sisters were silent for a few minutes. "Why haven't the Elders told us anything about this new threat?" Leo asked.

"They don't know its coming, and I can't tell them without the Angels of Destiny interfering," Jerome replied.

"So, what can we do?" Phoebe asked.

"Be ready. Be prepared to fight harder than you've ever fought in you lives," Jerome replied.

"Will you be staying with us?" Paige asked.

"Is there any room for me with Wyatt?" Jerome asked.

"Yeah, we have one more bedroom you can use," Piper said.

"Then, yes. I'm here to stay this time," Jerome replied.

Author's Note:

I want to give Jerome another power in the next chapter as a late reward for helping vanquish Amenti. I'm thinking about electrokinesis (lightning). Any thoughts on this? Or any other suggestions for Jerome's power?

I've also been thinking about Chris. Every review that mentioned Chris said to bring him in, so I intend to do that. However, after thinking about it a bit, I'm also thinking that in this story Chris shouldn't have to come alone. Chris came from the future by himself, with no allies or friends on the show. I think that he should have someone with him who understands his situation, someone who knows about the future so he doesn't have to keep the secrets to himself. I'm thinking about having Piper's daughter, Melinda, come back with Chris to save Wyatt. After all, he's her brother, too. I haven't read the comics, so I really don't know much about her other than what's on the wiki, but I think she'd be a nice foil to Chris. There would be Chris, a neurotic, stressed out Whitelighter, then there would be Melinda, a friendly, sweet girl who came with him. Any thoughts on this? No reviews regarding Melinda means I will bring her in.


	3. Chapter 3

So, no one left any comments about Jerome's new power, so I'll give him electrokinesis in this chapter. So far, two reviews say to bring Melinda in with Chris. No one has said not to. So, I'm going to do it. Melinda will come in a little after Chris does, but they'll both be in the story fairly soon. Like, within the next chapter or two.

Chapter 3:

Piper and Phoebe had been talking to each other. "Jerome saved our lives, don't you think he deserves a reward?" Piper asked.

"Well, yeah, but going behind the Elders' backs, isn't that a little dangerous?" Phoebe replied.

"Who cares? Jerome is more than powerful enough to keep the Elders off our backs, and besides, they wouldn't want anything to happen to their precious Charmed Ones," Piper replied.

"True. So, it's agreed. We'll give Jerome back the power he used against Amenti, the lightning," Phoebe said.

"I think he called it electrokinesis, or something," Piper said.

"Wait, shouldn't we talk to Paige about this?" Phoebe asked.

"I'm sure she'll be fine with it. It is Jerome, after all," Piper said.

As it turned out, Piper was right. Paige agreed wholeheartedly. They brought Jerome into the living room and, after telling Leo what they were doing, readied themselves to start chanting. "Are you sure we have enough power to do this?" Phoebe asked.

"There's only one way to find out," Jerome said. The sisters had noticed a change in Jerome's behavior. He seemed more comfortable, and he seemed to trust all of them. He was still mysterious, secretive, and fairly withdrawn, though not nearly as much as he was before. However, the sisters still noticed the change in his behavior.

"How did the spell go again?" Piper asked.

"I wrote it down last time, in case we ever needed it again. Spell!" Paige called. A piece of paper Orbed into her hand.

The sisters all read off the paper. "The Council has spoken, Jerome's powers are gone. Restore his powers, though only the one. Powers that be, restore electrokinesis to he!" they chanted.

Despite the blaring grammatical error in the spell, Jerome felt power restored to him. "Did it work?" Paige asked.

Jerome turned to her and grinned. "Only one way to find out." Jerome Orbed himself and the sisters to the Sahara. He turned around and blasted as much lightning as he could from his hand. The lightning started at his shoulders, then traveled down his arm and ultimately being released through his fingertips. The lightning was incredibly intense. The Charmed Ones had seen lightning before, but not nearly as intense as the lightning Jerome was using.

Once Jerome stopped, Paige commented "I've never seen such intense lightning before."

"It's called 'enhanced electrokinesis,'" Jerome said.

"Enhanced? What does that mean?" Phoebe asked.

"Amongst active powers there are three... levels, I guess. The first is just the power itself. For example," Jerome said. Jerome shot off some lightning. It looked like the lightning the Charmed Ones had seen before, just slightly more intense and with three electrical arcs rather than just one or two.

"The next level is referred to as an advanced for of that power, and is often called advanced whatever the power is. Advanced electrokinesis, for example," Jerome said. Jerome blasted two concentrated beams of electricity from his hands.

"It's incredibly rare to find any magical creatures with enough power to use an advanced form of most powers. Advanced telekinesis isn't too rare, but the higher powers, such as pyrokinesis, cryokinesis, and electrokinesis are.

"The last, rarest, and most powerful level of powers is enhanced. You've already seen enhanced electrokinesis and enhanced telekinesis, so I'm not going to bother showing you again. As far as I'm aware, Defenders are the only people with the power to use enhanced powers. At least, the only people who can use them naturally," Jerome said.

"Huh. And here I thought we were really powerful. Turns out, we're only a fraction as powerful as we could be," Paige said.

"No. Advanced powers are often times as dangerous to the user as they are to the victim," Jerome said.

* * *

Marthis noticed all of the lightning. "He has that power back?" he shouted. "Why do the witches trust him with that power?"

Daniel turned to Marthis. "Marthis, we have far greater problems to worry about. He is out of our influence now, our primary focus is stopping the Destroyer. Do not allow yourself to become distracted by your hatred of the boy," he said.

Marthis growled. "Very well. Our focus shall be on the Destroyer. He is the most pressing concern right now," he said.

Author's Note:

I know that this chapter is short, but I started writing the next chapter as part of this one, and realized that this chapter and the next one don't really flow together as one chapter. They needed to be put into two chapter. As I said in the last author's note, I want to bring Melinda into this story. As I said earlier, all the reviews have said to bring her in, so I shall. However, all the knowledge of her I have comes from the wiki page. According to the wiki page, her only powers are telekinetic Orbing and Hovering. I'm considering giving her another power, maybe, but I don't really know which one to give her. Please leave a review giving me some ideas for her powers, and anything else that you want to say. Some examples of appropriate reviews would be: praise, suggestions, friendly criticism, and requests. Please note that these are examples and a review can contain other things if you feel so inclined.


	4. Chapter 4

This chapter takes place right at the start of "Oh My Goddess!" and will get the Charmed Ones, and Jerome, along the path to fight the Titans. As far as Melinda having molecular immobilization (Piper's freezing power) or molecular combustion (Piper's power to blow stuff up), I'll consider it. I like the idea, but I'm not sure if I want Melinda have a copy of her mother's power. I'll think about giving her one of these powers, or maybe a weaker version (ie. Acceleration or deceleration).

Chapter 4:

Jerome and the sisters were back at the manor, two days later. It was unbearably hot. Jerome knew what that meant, but he was under direct orders from the Angels of Destiny to say nothing. Paige had been having nightmares for a few days. Jerome knew what these meant as well, yet he was still unable to say anything. Wyatt was still sleeping through the night, which left Piper and Leo in very good moods.

One exceptionally hot day Piper was going through the bills while Phoebe was complaining about the heat. "What happened to our air conditioning? We had one before," she complained.

"It broke when Cole turned it all the way up to freeze out Troxa. Since we live in San Francisco, we never bothered to fix it," Piper replied.

"Oh. Well, can we fix it now?" Phoebe asked.

"Well, we could, but someone made a ton of phone calls to Tokyo, so we have no spare money to fix it," Piper said.

"What? How much?" Piper handed Phoebe the phone bill. "Oh, that's a lot of money. In my defense, I'm trying to figure out where Jason and I stand. Unfortunately, that requires a lot of phone calls."

At that moment Jerome Flickered into the living room. Jerome looked at the two sisters, then at the clock, and muttered "Huh. I thought it was earlier than it is now." Jerome then sat down in a chair near the window.

Phoebe looked at him. "Aren't you hot?" she asked.

Jerome shrugged. "Not really. It's a lot warmer than it's supposed to be, but it doesn't bother me, if that's what you're asking," he replied.

Phoebe sighed and plopped down on another chair. "Why is it so hot?" she groaned.

"It's not just hot here. Everywhere around the world is unusually warm," Jerome said.

Paige came down the stairs. "There is nothing natural at all about this heat!" she complained.

"Good morning, sunshine," Phoebe said with a small grin.

Paige gave her a glare. "Cut the snappy replies and pass the caffeine, I've got work to do," Paige replied.

"What do you plan on doing? Scrying for Mother Nature and having a Wiccan word with her?" Piper asked cheerfully.

Paige looked at Piper. "Okay, you're way too perky, and it's freaking me out," Paige replied.

"Wait, so you think this weather's demonic?" Phoebe asked.

"Paige, I think you should try scrying for the source of all this heat," Jerome said. "It might lead to something." Jerome knew exactly what was going on with the heat, but he was forbidden to say anything about it.

"Should we be concerned?" Phoebe asked Piper as Paige walked away.

"I don't think so," Piper said.

"Wait until she finds something before being concerned. This could just be a natural heat wave," Jerome said, though in his mind he was thinking 'Yes, you should be concerned.'

* * *

On a glacier in the Arctic, the Titans Meta and Demitrius were free. The demon who had freed them was dead. "Come on, Meta, we have to free Cronus," Demitrius said.

"Do we have to? You know he'll be furious," Meta said, pouting a little.

"I am counting on it!" Demitrius said.

* * *

"Jerome, I found something!" Paige shouted from upstairs.

"What did you find?" Jerome called up the stairs.

"The Arctic circle!" Paige replied.

Jerome knew what that meant. "Let's get Phoebe and check it out."

"You're coming, too?" Paige asked.

"You might need protection," Jerome replied.

Paige Orbed to get Phoebe from P3, where she was preparing for a charity auction the newspaper was doing. "What are you doing?" Phoebe hissed after Paige nearly Orbed into P3 while it was full of people.

"I was right! I kept scrying for evil and one place came up red hot!" Paige said. She handed Phoebe a think parka. "Put this on, you're going to need it."

Phoebe sighed and put on the parka. Paige followed suit and Orbed the two of them to the Arctic glacier.

Jerome met them outside of an ice cave. "Why am I here if you have him?" Phoebe asked through chattering teeth.

"Because we might need a premonition," Jerome replied. "And you might need protection."

The three of them entered the cave. "Okay," Phoebe said, "there's a reason no one lives here and it's because they all died from the cold." Inside the cave was a study area. Jerome found some ashes on the floor.

"Phoebe, touch these ashes," Jerome said.

"I don't have my gloves!" Phoebe complained. She looked at Jerome in his normal jeans and a t-shirt. "How are you not freezing?" she asked him.

Jerome shrugged and gestured towards the ashes. "We have more pressing matters to attend to," Jerome said.

"Alright," Phoebe said. Phoebe touched the ashes.

"Are you getting anything?" Paige asked.

"Yeah. Frostbite. Shush!"

Phoebe gasped and started yelling "Hot, hot, hot!"

"Hot?" Paige asked.

"No, not here. In my vision," Phoebe said.

"Vision of what?" Jerome asked.

"Two very large someones coming out of that wall," Phoebe said. She pointed to a wall with two large holes in it.

"Who?" Paige asked. Jerome already knew, but he was forbidden to say anything.

"I don't know," Phoebe replied. The cave started shaking and a ton of snow fell on Phoebe and Paige. Jerome Glistened out of the way before it hit him. He reappeared in front of the two half buried sisters.

Phoebe turned to Paige and asked "Did I mention this sucks?"

* * *

The Titans had found Cronus. "Meta, go gather the Whitelighters. It won't be long before I free Cronus, and you know how impatient he is," Demitrius said. Meta Whirled off to find some Whitelighters while Demitrius Whirled into the clouds and created a lightning storm to free Cronus.

* * *

Piper, Leo, and Wyatt were all at Darryl's son's party. Darryl was showing his son a magic trick. "You call that magic?" Leo teasingly asked. Darryl gave Leo a glare while Piper teasingly smacked Leo's arm. Leo heard the Elders jingle at him.

"Piper, I have to go," Leo said.

"Go? But we just got here," Piper said.

"I know, but it's the Elders," Leo whispered.

Piper sighed. "Honey, it's not like I have a choice," Leo said.

"I know, I know. Go!" Piper said.

Leo smiled. "I love you," he said. Leo kissed Piper and walked off to some location where no one would see him Orb.

A few hours later, Piper was back home. She walked into the attic, looking for any dirty clothes. She walked in to see Phoebe wrapped up in a blanket, shivering, while Paige was trying to warm her up. Paige was also searching through the book, asking Phoebe "Is this them?"

"No, they looked more... ancient," Phoebe replied. Jerome stood in the back and watched.

"Who are they?" Piper asked.

"We don't know yet," Paige replied. "Is this them?"

"No," Phoebe replied.

Leo Orbed into the attic. "A Whitelighter's gone missing," Leo said. "The Elder's have no idea what's going on."

"Wait, missing, like a Darklighter?" Phoebe asked.

"No, a Darklighter's poison is slow and painful. This was more instantaneous," Leo said. Leo turned to Piper. "We'd better cancel counseling."

"And I'm calling Elise to tell her I can't do the auction," Phoebe said.

"Wow, hold on a minute!" Piper said. "We can't just cancel counseling. We need to learn when to put our lives on hold and when not to. Leo, is it possible the Whitelighter just clipped his wings and is in hiding?"

"I guess so," Leo said, though he didn't sound very convinced.

Jerome stepped forward. "That's not what happened. Trust me, you need to get on this," he said. Piper sighed and stormed out of the attic.

Phoebe followed her. Paige turned to Leo. "Maybe you should get the Elders to put a ban on Whitelighters Orbing," she said. Leo agreed and Orbed to the Heavens to relay the message.

Paige turned to Jerome and asked "Okay, so what are we up against?"

"I'm not allowed to tell you. Just keep searching," Jerome said. Paige sighed and kept flipping through the Book.

About thirty minutes later Paige yelled down the stairs. "Hey, Phoebe! Come up here, I think I've found something!"

Phoebe came running up the stairs. "What?" she asked.

"Do Titans sound familiar?"

"Titans, like from ancient Greece?" Phoebe asked.

"Yep, look here," Paige said.

Phoebe walked over to the Book and looked at the page. "Yep, that's them. Is there a vanquish?" Phoebe asked.

"No, but I've got potions here that are more powerful than the ones we used on Cole," Paige said.

"Yeah, and he survived them," Phoebe said.

"Cole was invincible. These guys probably aren't," Paige said.

"Well, they're after Whitelighters, and with the Elders' ban on Orbing how are they supposed to find one without one..." Paige shrugged and left the thought open.

Phoebe caught on quickly and said "No, we are not using you as bait."

"Look, we have potions. Just take a few and when the Titan gets here throw them," Paige said.

Phoebe looked around for Jerome, looking for support. She didn't see him. "Where's Jerome?" Phoebe asked.

Paige rolled her eyes. "I thought you trusted him now," she said.

"I do. I was hoping he would help me talk you out of your crazy sacrifice plan," Phoebe asked. "And having someone invincible along would probably be really nice backup."

"He left about ten minutes ago. He said he had something to check," Paige said.

"Check what?"

* * *

Chris Halliwell, no Chris Perry in this time, was wandering around San Francisco. He had created a time portal to return to that moment in the past, and the portal had sent him to Golden Gate Park. Chris knew he had to time his entrance perfectly, or risk Paige's death. At the moment, he was wandering through a forest with no one around, so his Orbs would go unnoticed.

Jerome sensed Chris's time portal and had Flickered to it to investigate. Jerome was able to more or less guess at Chris's location. Jerome tracked Chris to his location in the forest. "Who are you?" Jerome asked.

Chris spun around, shocked. The young man looked to be about 21 or 22 and had dark green eyes and dark hair. He was tall, about six foot one or so. Chris looked at Jerome, surprise and confusion on his face. "My name's Chris, Chris Perry," Chris replied.

"What are you doing here and why did you travel to this time?" Jerome asked.

Chris was even more confused. How did this stranger know he had traveled through time? Chris studied the stranger closely. After getting a good look at him, Chris thought he recognized him as Jerome. The Jerome Chris knew of in the future looked nothing like that, however. Only the eyes were the same. "I don't know what you're talking about," Chris replied, opting to go for the safer answer.

"Don't give me that. I know you used a time portal, and I know you have some kind of magical blood in you. What are you and why are you here?" Jerome asked.

Chris was about to answer when his watch beeped. He had set an alarm to the time when Paige was about to get turned to stone, just in case he was distracted. Chris said "Sorry, gotta go." and Orbed to the manor. Jerome Flickered to the manor after Chris.

Author's Note:

Chris has now been introduced to the story. Melinda won't come in until after the Titans have been dealt with, so there's still time to throw around ideas about her. So, how did I do? This chapter is a lot like "Oh My Goddess! Part 1," so hopefully you guys didn't mind that too much. It will change and get more and more different from the episode as I write. Please, feel free to leave a review about anything you want, really. I'm still accepting power ideas for Melinda, as well as suggestions for how the sisters meet her and stuff for them to do after the Titans are dealt with, so please give me something.


	5. Chapter 5

Here's the next chapter. Again, I don't really have too many ideas for what the sisters should do after the Titans are dealt with.

Chapter 5:

Chris Orbed into the attic right after Paige had been turned to stone. Chris had on a pair of reflective glasses, to protect himself from Meta's petrifying stare. Chris yelled "Don't look into her eyes!" at Phoebe, and immediately started throwing potions at her. He had brought several potions from the future to fight the Titan's with, and he used them all up. Meta was about to attack when the man Chris thought was Jerome Flickered into the attic. Flickering; it must have been Jerome.

"Titan!" Chris yelled as he pointed at Meta. Jerome telekinetically threw Meta into the wall of the attic. She did the same to him. Meta Whirled out of the attic, leaving the stoned Paige behind.

Chris turned to Phoebe. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I think so," Phoebe replied. She turned to look at Paige. Her mouth opened in shock.

"She's not dead," Jerome said. "She's still alive, but she's more or less asleep."

"How do we free her?" Phoebe asked.

"That's something you're going to have to figure out," Chris said.

"Who are you?" Phoebe asked, turning to Chris.

"I'm Chris, Chris Perry," Chris said.

"He traveled here from the future using a time portal," Jerome said.

"Whoa, hold on. I never said anything about when I came from. How do you know I didn't come from the past?" Chris asked.

"Simple. You're watch beeped at the exact moment Paige was turned to stone, you knew exactly where to come when the Titan attacked, you seem to already know the sisters, and you had a stock of powerful potions that haven't been created yet. At least, not in this time," Jerome said.

Phoebe gave Chris a look that seemed to be saying "He got you. He's good." Chris sighed and said "Okay, I'm from the future. I came here to stop the Titans from ruining the world."

At that moment, Piper came in. She stopped as soon as she saw the stone Paige. "Oh, please tell me that's just a really good likeness of Paige," she pleaded.

"Nope," Phoebe said. "That's Paige."

"Yeah, and you should really focus and finding a way to free her. You're gonna need her," Chris said.

"Who's this?" Piper asked.

"That's Chris. He's from the future," Phoebe said.

"Uh huh," Piper said. "Friend or for?"

"Not sure," Phoebe replied.

"Nor am I," Jerome said.

A look of unbelief crossed Chris' face. "How can you say that? I saved Paige, didn't I?"

"You call that saving?" Piper asked.

A crash came from downstairs. "What was that?" Piper asked.

"I don't know," Phoebe said.

Piper and Phoebe ran downstairs to investigate while Jerome and Chris stayed in the attic. "Okay, you and I both know you're hiding something. Spill it," Jerome said.

"I have nothing to spill," Chris said. "And besides, who are you to confront me about secrets?"

Jerome stopped, somewhat irritated. He was right, of course. Jerome had kept secrets, was still keeping secrets, from the sisters. Before it was for his own protection. But by then, Jerome had only kept secrets for their protection or because he had no choice. "All of the secrets I keep now are kept to protect the girls or because I have no choice," Jerome said.

Chris walked over the the Book of Shadows and started flipping through it. "Yeah, yeah, yeah," he said. Chris had heard that excuse before, from multiple people. He wasn't a big fan of it.

"What are you doing?" Jerome asked.

"Looking for a way to free Paige, what do you think I'm doing," Chris said. After seeing Jerome's expression, he sighed and said "Look, it's not like I haven't looked through this before. A future, more powerful this. If I was after it, I would have taken it in the future."

* * *

Downstairs things were hectic. Every single magical creature was down there. "What is going on?" Piper asked.

A dwarf walked up to her and said "We'll pay for that." He gestured towards a broken vase on the floor.

"Can we help you?" Piper asked.

"Only if you can stop the world from ending," the dwarf replied.

"What?" Phoebe asked.

An elf walked in from the kitchen eating a drumstick. "The world's in chaos, great evil has risen, everyone senses it," she said.

"So, what do you expect us to do about it?" Phoebe asked.

"Well, you are the Charmed Ones, aren't you?" the elf asked.

Wyatt started crying from upstairs. "Do you always leave the baby alone?" the elf asked.

"No!" Piper and Phoebe replied.

"Well, sounds like he needs to be changed. Since you're going to save the world, I think I can step in," the elf said. She Faded to Wyatt.

"Wait!" Piper yelled. She groaned and turned to Leo. "Go watch her!"

"I have to tell the Elders about the Titans," Leo said.

"Can't Chris do it? He is a Whitelighter, after all," Phoebe said.

"Wait a second, where is he?" Piper asked.

"Upstairs, with Paige," Phoebe said.

"And the Book," Leo added.

"Okay, Leo, Elders. Phoebe, get our magical house guests out of here. Herd them into the basement or something. I'm going to go see what future boy is up to," Piper said.

Piper went upstairs to the attic and saw Chris flipping through the Book while Jerome stood there, watching him. "What do you think you're doing?" Piper asked.

"What does it look like? I'm trying to find a way to free Paige," Chris replied.

"No, not you! Jerome, what were you thinking, letting him look at the Book?" Piper asked.

"I was thinking that the Book trusts him, and if he tried anything I would vaporize him before he got away," Jerome said.

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence," Chris said sarcastically.

Phoebe came into the attic with a dwarf and a leprechaun. "What are you doing?" Piper asked.

"Leprechaun's luck has helped us before," Phoebe said while patting the leprechaun's shoulder.

The leprechaun walked up to Paige's statue and said "We're gonna need a lot more than luck to fix this. We're gonna need some pixie dust, too."

"I'll get a fairy," the dwarf said. "I left my pickaxe downstairs anyway."

Phoebe turned to Jerome. "Any more ideas for freeing Paige? In case this doesn't work?" she asked.

"Nothing short of hoping she's only encased and shattering the stone," Jerome said.

"Yeah, let's not risk it," Chris said.

"You don't have a spell or something you could cast?" Phoebe asked.

"Do you want me to try a spell?" Jerome asked. Phoebe nodded her head. "This witch is no longer free; this kind of fate for her cannot be. Her prison I do not condone, free her from this stone."

Paige glowed a little, but she remained petrified. Jerome shrugged. "My spell alone isn't enough," Jerome said.

Phoebe turned to Chris. "Just how powerful are these Titans?" she asked.

"They're more powerful than anything you've ever faced," Chris said.

"But not more powerful than the Power of Three, right?" Phoebe asked, looking at Jerome.

"They might be. The Power of Three is as powerful as your bond as sisters and as your power as witches. You are powerful witches, but witches themselves are nothing compared to the Titans. Your Power of Three may not be strong enough to beat them," Jerome said.

"Wait, so you're saying that the Titans are more powerful than your entire Council?" Phoebe asked.

"No, the spell the Council used to seal my powers combined all of their power into one spell, but the unity was weak. It's like a loosely made fabric; if one thread comes loose, the whole thing unravels. The Power of Three only needs to undo one Council member's spell to free my powers," Jerome said.

"So, these Titans are stronger than your people?" Phoebe asked.

"Undoing a spell is a lot easier than destroying someone, Phoebe. A Power of Three spell is strong enough to undo a spell cast by one of my people, but that does not mean that it has the power to destroy one of my people," Jerome said.

The dwarf returned with his pickaxe and a fairy. The fairy sprinkled Paige with pixie dust while the leprechaun used its gold on her. The dwarf then hit Paige as hard as he could with his pickaxe. A loud ring resonated through the attic, but Paige remained solid stone. The dwarf shrugged and said, turning to Phoebe "Sorry, don't know what else to try."

"Well, keep trying. I'll see if I can't make a potion or something to help," Phoebe said.

"Wait, let me try the spell again," Jerome said. "This time alongside the pixie dust and leprechaun luck. Then you," Jerome directed his words to the dwarf "hit her with the pickaxe again."

The dwarf and leprechaun shrugged. "Might as well," the dwarf said. Jerome started chanting as the leprechaun and fairy used their gold and pixie dust, respectively, on Paige. At the end of the incantation, the dwarf hit Paige with his pickaxe. The stone shattered, leaving a confused and bewildered looking Paige.

"What happened? Where's the Titan? What's going on?" Paige asked.

"Calm down, honey," Phoebe said. "I'll explain everything." She led Paige downstairs while the dwarf and leprechaun admired their handiwork. Jerome saw Chris Orb away, and followed. Whether Chris helped or not, Jerome did not trust him.

* * *

Leo was in the Heavens. He had gone to warn the Elders about the Titans, but when he arrived, they were all dead. "No, no!" Leo screamed.

Leo heard the sound of Orbing behind him and saw Chris. "You knew this would happen!" Leo accused. Leo grabbed Chris by the shoulders and started shaking him with rage.

"Easy, easy!" Chris said. "This had to happen!"

Leo stopped. "What are you talking about? They're all dead!" Leo lamented.

"No, not all of them. Some of the Elders escaped, but it won't be long before the Titans kill them, too. But you can stop them, you can beat the Titans," Chris said.

"How?" Leo asked.

"You know how," Chris said. Jerome Orbed behind a pillar and was listening. He had heard most of the conversation, and he knew where Chris was going.

"No, it's too dangerous. The Elders forbid it," Leo said.

"Yeah, and look where they are now. Dead," Chris said.

"Even if I wanted to, even if I believed you, I couldn't. I'm no Elder," Leo said.

"Well, you better start acting like one," Chris said.

* * *

Piper and Phoebe had filled Paige in and were sitting in the living room. The dwarf came in and said "The rest of the Elders are in hiding and we're going to protect them while you three battle the Titans."

"Wait, rest of the Elders, what do you mean rest of the Elders?" Phoebe asked. Jerome Orbed into the living room.

"The Elders that the Titans haven't killed," Jerome said.

"What?" Piper asked.

"The Titans have killed the Elders. Those that survived are on the run, hiding from the Titans," Jerome said.

"Yeah, and we magical creatures are going to protect them while you three take on the Titans," the dwarf said.

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. Who said anything about us fighting the Titans?" Phoebe asked.

"Leo," Piper replied.

* * *

Leo could hear Piper's call from the Heavens. He just exited a room sealed behind a large, ornate golden door with an urn. "Piper," he said. "She needs me."

"No," Chris said. "You need to stay here, even afterwards, to coordinate."

Leo nodded. "You should go then. Otherwise they won't understand."

Chris Orbed to the manor.

Piper heard the sound of Orbing from behind her and said "Leo?"

Chris materialized and Piper sighed. "Where's Leo?" she asked.

"He's busy," Chris replied.

"Hold on, what's this about us fighting the Titans?" Phoebe asked.

Chris grinned. "You're about to find out."

A whirlwind surrounded the three witches. When it faded they were all wearing white togas. Phoebe had very long, blonde hair and Paige had a trident. "What just happened? What are we?" Piper asked.

Chris smiled. "You're gods."

Author's Note:

Still really similar to the actual episode, but I promise it will deviate. I want a lot of how they got their goddess powers to be the same in this story as it was in the episode, but now that they have their powers, the story can and will deviate from the episode. I know the girls haven't had any explanation about the Greek gods yet, I did that on purpose. They'll get it next chapter. So, anyone who wants to leave a review, please, please leave me one. I need ideas for after the Titans and for how they meet Melinda. I want her to come after the sisters get to know Chris, but I don't know how. Ideas, please?


	6. Chapter 6

I present to you this next chapter. The beginning is similar to the episode, but it changes quite a bit later on.

Chapter 6:

"We're what?" Piper asked.

"You're gods," Chris repeated.

"Like the Greek gods? How?" Paige asked.

"Last time the Titans roamed the Earth, the Elders turned a bunch of mortals into the Greek gods. The mortals had enough power to seal away the Titans, but it cost them their humanity. They used their powers to take over and force everyone to worship them. Leo is taking a huge risk that you three won't lose yourselves in the process," Chris said.

"Leo did this?" Piper asked.

"He's the only one left Up There," Jerome said.

"So, we're supposed to fight the Titans looking like this? We look ridiculous!" Piper said.

"Hey, that's a symbol of your new status and power," Chris said.

"Power, power's good, I like power. Why do I like power?" Paige asked.

"Because you are the Goddess of War," Chris said.

"Oh, well, I guess that explains the pitchfork!" Paige said as she waved the trident around.

"That's a trident, not a pitchfork," Jerome said.

"Yeah, be careful with that, that's a dangerous weapon," Chris said.

"Right on," Paige replied.

Phoebe twirled her hair around her finger. "I'm a lover, not a fighter," Phoebe said.

"You're the Goddess of Love," Chris said.

"Then I must be the Goddess of Sanity, because I think this whole thing is ridiculous," Piper said.

"Hey guys, check this out!" Paige blasted lightning out of her trident. The lightning hit and destroyed the cabinet.

"Yeah, she's the Goddess of War, alright," Jerome mumbled.

"I mean, look at these two! They can't be seen in public, much less take on the Titans!" Piper said.

"Leo gave you dominion over the Earth and all its power," Chris said.

"You're the Earth Mother," Jerome said.

"Hey, does that mean I can have a Wiccan word with you about the temperature here?" Paige asked, using Piper's comment from that morning.

"Not funny," Piper said.

"Hey, Chris, you never told us, do you have a girlfriend in the future?" Phoebe asked.

Chris looked at Phoebe then walked to the other side of the room. "Now, focus. As you've noticed, you all have impulses and desires based on your powers. You need to stay focused or you'll lose yourselves, just like the ancient Greeks," Chris said.

"I strongly recommend you start practicing and exercising your powers now," Jerome said.

"And what better way to do that than by using a bunch of demons for target practice?" Paige asked. Paige teleported away in a flash of lightning.

"And I have some bachelors to go bid on," Phoebe said. She clapped her hands and Beamed away.

"Great. Just great. Please go get them?" Chris asked Piper.

"Me? No, this is your mess, you go get them," Piper replied.

"No, as the Goddess of Earth its your job to bring order. That's why you feel so grounded and in control right now," Chris said.

"Piper, they can't be allowed free reign. They run the risk of losing themselves to their powers," Jerome said.

"Fine. You go get Paige, I'll get Phoebe," Piper said. Piper Whirled to find Phoebe.

"Any idea where to find Paige?" Jerome asked.

"Try following her lightning trail," Chris said. All forms of teleportation left some kind of residual trail that can be followed, if the follower also has that form of teleportation. Jerome nodded and followed Paige's trail of lightning.

Paige was near the base of a cliff, along the outskirts of a forest. She had just blasted one with lightning from her trident and had the others kneeling before her while one of them was kissing "the hand of the Paige." Jerome lightning teleported behind her and asked "What are you doing?"

"Hello, Jerome. Meet my army. I thought, what better way to take on the Titans than with hoards of demons, right?" Paige cheerfully asked.

"Wrong. The only way to beat the Titans is if you, Piper, and Phoebe all get together and put all of your power into fighting the Titans," Jerome said. He turned to the demons. "Now, go!"

"We answer only to our liege," one demon said.

"See how loyal they are?" Paige asked.

"They're only loyal as long as they think you're the most powerful. The second they see anything to prove otherwise, they'll run," Jerome said. "For example." Jerome used his telekinesis to start shaking the area around them. The ground shook violently, and some rocks began falling from the cliff. The demons, as soon as they saw his power, teleported away in various modes.

Paige gave an exasperated sigh. "Why did you do that? I had followers!"

"You can't have followers. None of you can," Jerome said.

* * *

Meanwhile Piper had gone to the club to get Phoebe. Phoebe had successfully enchanted every man in the room to worship her. The women were nowhere to be found. "Phoebe, what are you doing?" Piper asked.

"Letting all these men worship me," Phoebe replied.

"Well, stop it," Piper said.

"But worshiping me makes them so happy," Phoebe replied, smiling at one of the men beside her.

"Yeah, no. Leave!" Piper ordered the men.

"We answer only to Phoebe," one of the men said.

"Oh, is that so?" Piper asked.

"See, Piper? You know, you really should get out there and get some of your own followers. It's a great confidence booster," Phoebe said.

Piper turned to the men and yelled "I said leave!" She pointed her finger at the door and a powerful gust of wind blew all the men out of the club. Piper grabbed Phoebe and Whirled back to the manor.

Piper and Phoebe Whirled into the living room. Jerome and Paige were already there. "Okay, morality check. Leo did not, I repeat NOT, give us these powers so we could use them for personal gain. Nor did he give them to us to be worshiped. He gave them to us to defeat the Titans, and I for one would like to do that and get back to my life," Piper said.

Chris Orbed into the living room. "An Elder's being attacked. Ready or not, it's time to face the Titans."

Author's Note:

I thought that this was a pretty good place to stop. Like I said, the further into the Titan story I get, the more I'm going to change. Hopefully that means the next few chapters will be more interesting. This chapter was fairly uneventful, but the next chapter will contain the first encounter with the Titans, at least as gods. And I plan on making the battle more interesting than it is in the series. Now time for a poll: How many of you are familiar with the Poder Maximo? Please leave an answer in the form of a review, and I would love to see anything else in said review if so desired. Especially ideas. I really like ideas.


	7. Chapter 7

This chapter is where things get interesting, and different from the TV show. Enjoy.

Chapter 7:

Cronus and Demitrius had found an Elder. The Elder was young looking, though with magic looks can be deceiving. He was being protected by a leprechaun. "Stand back, Wise One," the leprechaun said.

"So brave in the face of death," Cronus said.

"We aren't the ones who'll be dying today," the leprechaun replied. He struck the ground with his shillelagh and a rainbow appeared, carrying he and the Elder away. Cronus flicked his wrist and send a burst of fire at the rainbow. The rainbow shattered, knocking the Elder to the ground and killing the leprechaun.

"Now who's going to protect you?" Cronus asked.

"We beat you before Cronus. We'll do it again," the Elder said.

Cronus laughed. "How? Your numbers are dwindling, the survivors are in hiding, and there are no gods to challenge me. By the end of the day, your kind will be extinct, and the Heavens will be ours," Cronus said.

At that moment the Charmed Ones appeared in front of the Elder. Cronus looked at them, amused confusion on his face. "Who are you?" Cronus asked.

"The supremes!" Paige exclaimed. Paige shot lightning from her trident at Cronus. Cronus deflected it with a casual flick of his wrist.

"Is that the best you can do?" Cronus asked.

Paige was stunned. Cronus flicked aside her most powerful attack like it was nothing.

"Try this on for size," Piper said. Piper caused the earth to shake, throwing the Titans off balance. She attacked them with powerful gusts of wind. The wind and the ground were enough to knock the Titans off their feet, but they quickly regained footing. Demitrius shot lightning at Piper, sending her to the ground. Phoebe tried using her powers to seduce them, but it had absolutely no effect. Piper got back up off the ground and creating a moving chasm, hoping to get the Titans to fall into it. Paige joined her and shot lightning from her trident at the Titans, hoping to distract them long enough for Piper's chasm to swallow them. Phoebe could do little, as her powers of love weren't meant for fighting.

Demitrius shot his own lightning at Paige's. The two bolts collided and created a powerful explosion, knocking both the Titans and the Charmed Ones to the ground. It also succeeded in stopping Piper's chasm. The Titans and Charmed Ones got back on their feet. This time, the Titans attacked. Cronus shot a powerful stream of fire while Demitrius blasted his lightning at the sisters. The sisters held up their hands and created a shield to protect themselves and the Elder. The two attacks hit the shield, but weren't powerful enough to penetrate it. "Okay, Phoebe, get the Elder to safety while Paige and I keep the Titans distracted," Piper said.

"Uh, Piper? I can't move," Phoebe said.

"Neither can I," Paige added, sounding a bit panicked.

"We have you now," Demitrius said.

Jerome Flickered behind the Titans. He telekinetically threw the Titans to the side. "Take the Elder to safety! I'll hold the Titans back as long as I can!" he shouted.

Piper grabbed her sisters and the Elder and Whirled them away to safety. "Who are you?" Cronus asked, dusting himself off.

"I'm their Defender," Jerome said. Jerome blasted the Titans with as much lightning as he could. Cronus and Demitrius had to work together to redirect Jerome's lightning, and even then it still had enough force to knock them to the ground.

"You are quite powerful, Defender. Are you here to kill us?" Cronus asked sarcastically.

"No, I am not allowed. The three you fought before are the ones who must vanquish you. But I will protect them with every ounce of power I possess," Jerome said. "And that is no small amount."

"And how long can you hold us back, holing yourself back as you are?" Demitrius asked.

"We'll see." Jerome telekinetically threw both Titans to the ground. They quickly recovered and countered. Cronus shot a stream of fire at Jerome. Jerome Whirled out of the way and blasted Cronus with lightning. The lightning hit Cronus and knocked him down. He grunted in pain. Demitrius blasted Jerome with lightning. Jerome took it. It destroyed his upper torso. Demitrius laughed in triumph.

"So much for the mighty Defender!" Demitrius said.

Cronus stared at Jerome's remains. Jerome started to regenerate. "Wait, Demitrius, look!" Cronus yelled. He pointed at Jerome. Demitrius turned and saw, with horror, Jerome reforming.

Once Jerome completely reformed, he said "Well, shall we continue?"

Cronus and Demitrius both blasted Jerome with their most powerful attacks. Jerome countered with his own lightning. Jerome's intense, powerful lightning hit the combined attack of Cronus and Demitrius. The two attacks collided and exploded in a powerful blast of light and heat. The force of the explosion knocked everyone to the ground. Cronus and Demitrius got up before Jerome did, and combined their attacks again. Jerome held up his left arm to block the attack. The attack hit and destroyed his arm. Jerome waited, but his arm wasn't regenerating. Jerome knocked the Titans to the ground with his telekinesis and blasted them with lightning. The Titans screamed in pain. Jerome then Flashed to the manor, away from the Titans. He did what he said he would; he held them off.

* * *

At the manor, the Charmed Ones were discussing their next battle strategy. "I don't think we have enough power to defeat the Titans. They had absolutely no issues with any of our powers," Piper said.

"They shrugged off my lightning like it was nothing," Paige said.

"If Jerome hadn't showed up when he did, we'd be dead," Phoebe said.

"Look, you need to focus and get yourselves together. You're the only ones who can defeat them," Chris said.

"Jerome can't?" Paige asked.

"No!" Chris exclaimed. "It has to be you!"

"Why us?" Phoebe asked.

Chris remembered talking to Piper in the future. He would always ask why their family was targeted by demons and evil. Why they had to suffer.

"Because you're the only ones with enough good to beat all of their evil," Chris said, using Piper's answer from the future.

"Jerome has more than enough power to defeat the Titans," Paige said. "Why can't he do it?"

"Because I'm not allowed to vanquish your foes," Jerome said, after Flashing into the living room. "And I'm not so sure I can do it. At least, not without the rest of my powers."

"What do you mean?" Piper asked.

As an answer, Jerome showed the sisters and Chris his left arm. Or rather, the lack thereof. "What happened to your arm?" Paige asked.

"It would seem that if both Cronus and Demitrius use their full, combined power it's enough to injure me beyond regeneration," Jerome said.

"Is it permanent?" Piper asked.

"I don't know. My arm's a stump now, but before it was nothing, so it's growing back, just at an extremely slow rate," Jerome said.

"Then how do we stop them?" Piper asked.

"You have the power, all you need to do is find it," Chris said.

"What about the surviving Elders? Couldn't they help us fight the Titans?" Phoebe asked.

"No, they're too few and need to stay in hiding," Jerome said.

"Where are they hiding?" Paige asked.

"They're safe," Chris said.

"Leo set up a safe house that's cloaked and hidden from the Titans," Jerome said.

"Leo set it up?" Piper asked.

"Yeah," Chris said.

"If it weren't for Leo, the Elders would all be dead, and there would be no hope," Jerome said. "Leo's a savior amongst the remaining Elders."

Piper stormed into the kitchen. Her sisters exchanged a worried glance and followed her. "Well, she's taking all that rather well," Chris said sarcastically. "There's a reason I avoided mentioning Leo to them. The fact that their pacifist Whitelighter is doing all of this, while they can barely control their powers would really make them look bad."

"And that's exactly why I did mention Leo. The fact that even their pacifist guide is doing everything he can to fight the Titans will motivate them to put everything they have into fighting the Titans. And, between this and their recent defeat by the Titans' hands, they seem to have finally gained control over their powers. They're focused, and in no danger of losing themselves," Jerome said.

* * *

"Piper? Are you okay?" Phoebe asked.

"No, I am not okay!" Piper snapped. "I am sick of hearing all of this knowledge second hand. I want to hear it from my husband. I want to hear it from Leo!"

"Well, it's not like he's not busy," Paige said.

"Leo, you better get down here right now!" Piper yelled. The manor started shaking under Piper's fury.

"Piper, calm down! I'm sure that Leo will come running as soon as he hears how angry you are," Phoebe said. Piper calmed down enough so the manor stopped shaking.

The sisters waited. Leo didn't come. Nothing happened at all, for that matter. "Leo?" Phoebe asked. "You can come running now."

A jingle was heard from the sky. "Did he just jingle us? Don't you jingle us, mister, you come down here and explain to us what's going on!" Piper yelled.

Chris and Jerome came running into the kitchen. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, we're fine," Phoebe said.

"We are not fine, we need Leo!" Piper said. She stormed out of the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" Phoebe asked.

"To spend time with my son," Piper replied.

"Okay..." Phoebe said.

"I have some things I need to research about this," Jerome said as he held his stump of an arm. "I'll be back in a while, hopefully with both arms." Jerome Flickered away to some location.

"I've got things to check on, too. I'll be back soon, probably before him," Chris said, gesturing to where Jerome was. "Please, try to think of some way to beat the Titans while I'm gone?"

"We'll do what we can," Paige said. Chris Orbed away to some unknown location.

"So, what do we do?" Phoebe asked.

"We plan a way to fight the Titans," Paige said.

* * *

"Someone's up here," Cronus said. He and Demitrius were in the Heavens, trying to find the one who had created the gods they had just fought.

"We don't know that. Maybe witches have become more powerful since we were last out," Demitrius said.

"She had the trident! Someone created those gods, and that means someone's still up here," Cronus said. Leo risked a peak from behind the pillar he was hiding behind. Cronus and Demitrius were dangerously close to finding his hiding spot, and Leo didn't have the power to fight them.

Author's Note:

This chapter was notably different from the show. So, how did you like the changes? Were they good, better than in the show or worse than in the show? Please, leave me these answers in the form of a review, along with anything else you feel so inclined to put into review format.


	8. Chapter 8

Okay, I know I get between 30 and 40 readers a chapter (thanks to the FanFiction traffic graph thing) and I only get one or two reviews per chapter. Please, don't hold back. I would like to thank lizardmomma for being willing to always leave a review, even if it's just a simple "good job." The rest of you, if you want to say something, anything at all, please by all means say it. Even if it's nothing more than a "well done" or even a "I read the chapter." If its insignificant, post it anyway. If it's really short and you think it's a waste of my time to read it, post it anyway. If you just flat out do not want to review, then that's acceptable. Not preferable, but acceptable. I just want everyone to know that it's perfectly okay to leave a review that may not be particularly deep or full.

Chapter 8:

Several hours had passed, and Cronus and Demitrius were no closer to finding Leo than they were when they started. Leo was doing an excellent job of hiding and cloaking himself from them. Cronus, in his rage, had already destroyed several pillars. However, since it was the Heavens in question, they reformed rather quickly.

"Ow!" Phoebe yelled, again. She and Paige had been trying to devise a strategy to defeat the Titans for several hours, and they had nothing. No matter how many war strategies Paige came up with (and since she was the Goddess of War it meant pretty much every war strategy in existence) the sisters lost.

"I give up!" Paige exclaimed. "We don't have enough power to beat the Titans, no matter how many ways I spin it."

Paige and Phoebe heard Chris Orb into the kitchen. "Hey guys," he said, walking into the living room. "How's the plan coming?"

"It's not," Phoebe replied.

"What?" Chris asked.

"No matter what we try, warrior, seductress, Earth Mother, we don't have the power to defeat the Titans. None of us do, not even together with the Power of Three," Paige said.

"Well, keep thinking. There's a way, there has to be a way," Chris said.

"Says who? You?" Phoebe asked.

"Yeah, and history. The ancient Greeks did it without the Power of Three. You should be able to do it with the Power of Three," Chris said.

"Well, we can't," Paige said.

"I really miss Leo," Phoebe said.

"Yeah, he'd know how to beat the Titans. He always knows how to help us," Paige said.

"Even Leo's presence is helpful. He fills me with so much confidence, I feel like I can do anything," Phoebe said.

"Really? When he's around I feel like everything I know, all the power I have is at my disposal. He makes me feel like I have the power to do anything," Paige said.

"Well, Leo's not here, so what can I do to help you beat the Titans," Chris said.

"Go get Leo?" Phoebe suggested.

"No, he's busy! What can I do, here and now, to help you out?" Chris said.

"Try saying this, it always works for Leo, 'Your power comes from your emotions,'" Phoebe said.

"Or how about 'Trust, in the Power of Three,'" Paige said.

"Or, how about this one, 'I'm gonna go check with the Elders.' Do you think he actually checks with the Elders?" Phoebe asked.

"No," Paige said. "He probably goes to a sports bar and buys his buddies a round of drinks. 'Yeah, wife thinks I'm Up There. Here's to the Elders!'"

Phoebe and Paige both started giggling. "You really are helpless without him," Chris said. It was more of a statement than a question, but Phoebe and Paige both nodded anyway.

* * *

Jerome was talking, more or less, to an Angel of Destiny. "Why not? The sisters don't have the power to defeat the Titans. If I don't help them, they are going to die," Jerome said. Jerome had spent the last few hours trying to convince the Angel to let him fight. The Angel refused.

"Whether they lose or not, their destiny must be done by their own choice and their own actions, not ours," the Angel said.

"But if they die the balance of the Grand Design will be thrown completely off," Jerome argued.

"It is better that the balance be thrown a little for a short while than for someone's free will and destiny be compromised," the Angel retorted. It was an old argument between Angels of Destiny and Defenders of the Grand Design. The Angels were given the task of protecting the free will and destinies of all those in the world, whereas the Defenders were given the task of protecting the balance of the Grand Design. Balance and free will. The two absolute most important factors in the Grand Design. Without free will, the Grand Design has no meaning, no purpose. Without balance, the Grand Design exist. The Angels and the Defenders have long argued over which aspect of the Grand Design is the most important and, consequently, who was most powerful. An Angel could not destroy a Defender, but neither could a Defender destroy an Angel. It was an ancient debate, and as a result there was somewhat of a rivalry and a small feud between the two factions.

"Where comes in our free will, then?" Jerome asked.

"We exist outside of time and destiny. We have no part in it, therefore we have no right to interfere in it," the Angel replied.

"Balance is far more important than free will. Why else would there be an Ancient to balance another?" Jerome asked. The Ancients were a small group of beings older than time itself. Very, very little was known about them, even by the Angels and Defenders.

"There is one Ancient that has no counter, and he is consequently the most powerful," the Angel said.

Jerome thought for a moment. "Fine, but what if the sisters exercise their free will and ask me for help? Am I to refuse them the freedom to let me fight?" Jerome asked.

"Yes," the Angel simply replied.

"How is that not interfering with their free will?" Jerome argued.

"Simple. You are allowing them to ask, but you yourself cannot interfere in their destinies," the Angel said.

"So, all this time I've been down there, helping them, how has that not already interfered with their destinies?" Jerome asked.

"It has," the Angel said.

"Then why have you allowed me to stay?" Jerome countered.

"Out of necessity. We know if His waking, and that soon He will be free. We need you to prepare them to fight Him. You are granted freedom to do whatever you please once He is awake, but not until then," the Angel said.

Jerome growled. Until the Destroyer was free, Jerome had no power to do anything. "How long?" Jerome asked.

"Until He is free? I do not know. He exists in a realm outside of destiny, and as such we have no power to see Him," the Angel said. "There are many factors that go into His awakening."

"If you can't see him, if you are that weak, then how can you possibly know that I need to work with the sisters to stop him?" Jerome asked.

"The future is incredibly difficult to see, since He exists outside time and space. However, pooling all of our powers together, the Angels and your Council have managed to catch glimpses of possible futures. There are very few possible outcomes that lead to continued existence, and all of them involve you and the sisters working together," the Angel said.

"If the sisters die at the hands of the Titans, how are they going to help fight the Destroyer?" Jerome asked.

The Angel stared at him. "You know perfectly well that death means nothing when dealing with Him." The Angel Sparkled to wherever the Angels lurked. Jerome Flickered back to the manor.

* * *

Meanwhile, Chris was trying to convince Piper to talk to Paige and Phoebe. "They need your help," Chris pleaded.

"Look, I have said it before, and I will say it again. We. Need. Leo," Piper replied.

"Alright, you want Leo? Fine, you'll get Leo," Chris Orbed Up There to get Leo. Piper went downstairs to her sisters, thinking the least she could do was try to come up with something for Leo. Piper saw her sisters sitting on the living room couch, looking utterly defeated.

"What's the matter with you two?" Piper asked.

"We tried everything Paige could think of, and no matter what we do, we don't have enough power to defeat the Titans," Phoebe said.

Jerome Flickered into the middle of the living room. "Jerome!" Paige shouted.

"Hey. So, what have you got for me?" Jerome asked.

"Nothing. We simply aren't strong enough to defeat the Titans," Phoebe replied.

Jerome scowled. There was nothing he could do, and if the sisters didn't believe they could do it, how was he to convince them otherwise?

Author's Note:

And now we have ended another chapter. Well, I say we, but I'm the one doing all the writing. Of course, you're reading it, so you've ended it to. I guess that does mean we finished the chapter. I had originally planned on making this chapter longer and finishing the Titans with this chapter, but then decided against it. I got tired right about here, and figured this was a good place to end the chapter. And this way, I'm updating sooner. The next chapter shouldn't take too long to publish, so keep an eye open. Or two. Two eyes are better than one. As always, please leave a review about pretty much anything. I don't care.


	9. Chapter 9

Well, this took longer to write than I thought it would. Sorry about that. The first couple of scenes are the same as in the show. That's because I really like those scenes and didn't want too much change to them.

Chapter 9:

Leo was still trying to hide from the Titans. He was hidden behind a pillar. Chris Orbed in behind him. Leo frantically turned to Chris and said "What are you doing? You're gonna alert the Titans!"

"That's the plan," Chris said. He stepped out from behind the pillar and whistled. Cronus turned and blasted a stream of fire at Chris. Chris ducked behind the pillar.

"Piper needs your help," Chris said. "Go!"

"Thank you," Leo said, then he Orbed to the manor. Chris stepped out from behind the pillar and distracted the Titans. Demitrius shot a bolt of lightning at Chris. Chris Orbed out of the way. The Titans followed him.

* * *

The sisters heard the sound of Orbing. They were all expecting Chris, but they saw Leo. "Leo!" Piper yelled. She and her sisters ran to give Leo a hug.

"We've missed you so much!" Phoebe said.

"Leo, come on and see your son," Piper said.

Leo shook his head. "Not now. Right now we need to focus on beating the Titans. What have you got for me?"

"Nothing. We simply don't have the power to defeat the Titans. We can't do it," Phoebe said.

"No matter what we try, there's no way we can win," Paige said.

"See how much this family needs you?" Piper asked.

Leo walked away and looked at the sisters. "No, I don't," he said. "You don't need me. You never did. And it's not because you have the power of goddesses or the Power of Three. That's not why I chose you. I chose you because you three are the greatest force of good I know."

Jerome was impressed. He could visibly see the difference Leo's words were having on the sisters. He could see their confidence growing.

"Paige, you know exactly where to find the power to defeat the Titans," Leo said.

"I do?" Paige asked. Leo nodded. Paige thought for a minute. "We have to declare ourselves goddesses."

"That's how the ancient Greeks did it," Leo said.

"But Chris told us not to do that," Phoebe said.

"Chris was wrong," Leo said. "He doesn't know you like I do."

"Leo, the ancient Greeks lost their humanity," Phoebe said.

"You're not the ancient Greeks. You're the Charmed Ones," Leo said. "Phoebe, you lost yourself to the darkest love that ever existed, and you still found your way back. Of course you can handle being the Goddess of Love."

"Darkest love?" Jerome asked.

"It's a long story," Piper said.

"And Paige, you've been consumed with gaining power, but you never once let the power consume you. Why wouldn't you be able to handle being the Goddess of War?" Leo said.

"Wow, I've missed a lot, haven't I?" Jerome asked.

"Yep," Phoebe said, grinning.

"Piper," Leo started. "Is it any wonder that I made you the Goddess of Earth? You are everything that is good and beautiful in this world."

"I wouldn't say everything," Phoebe said, gesturing towards herself and Paige. "Just most things."

Leo smiled. "It's like I've always said. Your power comes from your emotions. And right now you're going to have to dig deeper than you've ever dug before. Take everything you have. Your deepest secrets, your hearts, your souls, you darkest fears. Take all of that and channel it into power. Power not to seal the Titans away, but to destroy them, forever."

Leo began glowing. He looked at himself, confused and concerned. "What's happening to me?" he asked, worried.

Jerome recognized what was happening to Leo. Leo was becoming an Elder. Jerome, however, wasn't all too sure that he should say anything. Then again, not telling the sisters things hadn't done him much good in the past. "Leo's becoming an Elder," Jerome finally said.

"What?" Piper yelled.

"What he's done is nothing short of a miracle. He recreated the gods, he saved all the remaining Elders, he organized the magical community to unity and gave them incentive to work together for a common cause, and most importantly, he gave you three the courage and confidence to destroy the Titans forever," Jerome said. "Now, he's receiving his reward."

"Reward? What kind of reward is that?" Piper asked.

"Being an Elder, one of the protectors of all that is good, the chance for being the highest power on the good side, that's his reward," Jerome replied.

"Elders don't have families and they don't live on Earth!" Piper said. "But Leo has a family who needs him to be around!"

"Unfortunately, there isn't much of a choice. The Angels of Destiny dictate these aspects," Jerome said.

"What about free will?" Piper asked.

"Leo chose to essentially save the world from the Titans. This, his becoming an Elder, is the consequence of those actions. Free will works like this: you're given choices, then you receive consequences based on your choices," Jerome said.

"So he has no say in this?" Piper asked.

"He always has a say, he always has a choice. But by rejecting this gift, he'll be giving up the opportunity to restore the world to its proper order," Jerome said.

"You sound like you want him to be an Elder," Piper said.

"The choice is his. I want him to choose whatever he thinks is right," Jerome said. "Though personally, if the balance of the world weren't at stake, I'd rather he stay as well."

"Why?" Paige asked.

Everyone turned to stare at her. "I mean, I want Leo to stay, too. I was just curious as to why Jerome did," she quickly added.

"I would love to see the Angels of Destiny rejected. It's an old rivalry thing," Jerome said.

"Chris," Piper suddenly said.

"What?" Leo asked.

"Chris. He did this, he set everything up so that you'd become an Elder, and then he coached you through the process. Chris, get your butt down here!" Piper yelled.

Jerome knew Chris wouldn't come. Jerome was no fool. Neither was Chris. Chris knew that the Titans were following his Orb trail, and that by coming to the manor he would be bringing the Titans straight to the sisters, and to Leo. However, the Titans had likely already sensed that Leo had become an Elder and were on their way to the manor at that instant. Jerome decided to take the risk and he remote Orbed Chris to the manor.

Chris appeared in front of everyone, turned to Jerome, and asked "What do you think you're doing? You're going to lead the Titans straight to us!"

"Chris, what's all this about Leo becoming an Elder?" Piper demanded.

"Oh, that. Leo is the only reason there's any hope of defeating the Titans. Now, he's receiving the ultimate reward," Chris said.

"Don't give me that! Maybe it's cool to be an Elder in your world, but here it sucks! Elders are never around," Piper replied.

"Look, the world needs sources of good to watch over it. Do you know a source of good better than Leo?" Chris asked.

Piper was about to say something when the manor began shaking. Cronus and Demitrius Whirled into the manor. Cronus smacked Phoebe and sent her flying into a table. Demitrius blasted Paige with lightning. Paige was sent flying into a cabinet. Cronus threw Chris at a wall, sending him through the wall. Cronus and Demitrius turned to Leo and readied their most powerful attacks. They each shot their attacks, and Jerome leapt in front of the blast. The force and power of the attack destroyed most of Jerome's body. The residual energy hit Leo, knocking him into a wall and singeing him badly. "Leo, no!" Piper yelled.

The manor started shaking. Piper's fists clenched. "You invade my home, attack my family, try to kill my husband, and you expect to get away with that?" she shouted. Piper blasted the Titans with wind. The wind sent the Titans flying into a wall. They fell to the ground.

They quickly got up and blasted Piper with all their power. The attacks hit her, but did nothing. "Don't you know it's not nice to anger Mother Nature?" Piper asked. Piper created a deep abyss, heading straight for the Titans. She stopped it a few inches in front of them and opened a massive chasm.

"Now, who wants to get in first?" Piper asked. Neither Cronus nor Demitrius moved.

"And if you're thinking about running away, I'd recommend against it. Where ever you go, I will find you, and I will end you," Piper said. Neither Cronus nor Demitrius made a move. "So, neither of you wants to volunteer? Pity. Both it is, then," Piper said. Piper widened the chasm so that both the Titans fell into the hole. She heard them scream as they fell. Piper repaired the chasm she had made.

Everyone was slowly beginning to come to. Other than Jerome, who at that point was a pair of legs. "Piper, are you okay?" Phoebe asked.

"I beat the Titans, didn't I?" Piper asked.

"Yeah, but, do you still have any humanity left?" Phoebe asked.

"Of course."

Leo got up and walked over to Piper. "You did it. You found your power. Now, it's time to give it back," he said. Piper looked at him and Whirled away.

Author's Note:

The Titans are now dead! Jerome is currently in an awkward state of only having legs. I can't imagine that's be all that pleasant. The next chapter will be the very last chapter that's even remotely tied to "Oh My Goddess!" And most of it will be Paige, Phoebe, and Jerome calming Piper down and getting her to give up her powers. The whole confrontation with Leo probably won't be written in, since I'd basically be copy-pasting the episode's version. Instead I'll write about the other two and Jerome and some interaction with Chris, since they haven't had a good chance to talk to him about much other than the Titans. And Jerome has some unfinished business from when he first intercepted Chris. Lastly, I'm not sure if I should have Leo put the spell on Piper to remove her pain or not. It's a key point in the next episode, but this is FanFiction. Who cares about key plot points for an episode? So, please leave a review letting me know what you would like to read.


	10. Chapter 10

I've decided against having Leo cast his spell on Piper. It wouldn't really fit in with my story. Leo and Piper are going to have a confrontation, but I'm not writing it into the story. It's basically the exact same as in the show, only it will happen somewhere else and the end part with Leo's spell won't happen.

Chapter 10:

"So, where do you think she went?" Phoebe asked.

"I don't know. But I'm going to find her," Leo replied. Leo Orbed to find Piper.

"Hey, what about us?" Paige yelled as Leo Orbed.

"What about us?" Phoebe asked.

"Well, I kind of want the goddess out of me," Paige said.

"Leo!" Chris yelled.

Leo Orbed back into the manor. "What? I have a wife to find," Leo said.

"First, let's return Phoebe and Paige. Then let them help you find your wife," Chris said. Leo agreed.

Leo Orbed to get the urn that held the power of the gods. Leo returned with the urn in his hands. He walked up to Phoebe, opened the urn, and watched the power flow from Phoebe back into the urn. Phoebe returned to the jeans and tank top she was wearing before being turned into a goddess.

Leo walked up to Paige and repeated the procedure. Paige reverted back to her skirt and blouse. Leo looked at Jerome. Jerome had nothing from the waist up. Leo walked over to Jerome and tried healing him. Jerome began to regenerate at a faster, visible rate. His upper torso grew, followed by his arms and, lastly, his head. Leo stopped, and Jerome sat up. Jerome grabbed his head and asked "What happened?"

"Everything but your legs was destroyed by the Titans' attack," Leo said.

"I know, but how did I regenerate so quickly?" Jerome asked.

"I healed you," Leo replied.

"Really? And that accelerated my regeneration?" Jerome asked.

"So it would seem."

"Where are the Titans? And Piper?" Jerome asked.

"The Titans are gone, Piper vanquished them. As for Piper, she left," Leo said.

"Where?" Jerome asked.

"We don't know," Paige said. Jerome turned to look at Paige and Phoebe.

"I see you're no longer goddesses," Jerome said.

"Thank goodness," Paige said.

"You didn't like the power?" Jerome asked.

"No, I did not like the power. I've spent so long on a power kick that I've gotten kind of sick of power. I need a break," Paige said.

Unfortunately, there's no time for that, Jerome thought, though he refrained from saying it out loud. He didn't want the sisters knowing about what was in store for them. At least, not for a little while longer.

Phoebe had began scrying for Piper. "I don't see how this is going to work. Piper's a goddess, and I'm scrying for a witch," Phoebe said.

Jerome stood up and walked over to Phoebe. "Keep trying. We need to find Piper," Jerome said.

"You guys work on finding Piper. I have to go Up There with the other Elders," Leo said. Leo Orbed to the Heavens.

Jerome turned and saw Chris. "What is he still doing here?" Jerome asked.

"Helping the sisters, like I came here to do," Chris said.

"Do you know where Piper is?" Jerome asked.

Chris hesitated. "No," he eventually said.

"Then you're not doing your job very well, are you?" Jerome asked. It was a rhetorical question, and Chris knew it.

A tree crashed through the window. Phoebe and Paige screamed. "What is with this freak storm?" Phoebe shouted.

Then something dawned on Chris. "It's Piper," Chris said.

"What?" Jerome asked.

"Piper. Think about it. She's the Goddess of Earth, and her husband just became an Elder. She's definitely powerful enough to cause this storm, and she's probably furious," Chris explained.

"Great, so if you were an angry goddess, where would you be?" Phoebe asked.

"Somewhere high. Somewhere she could enjoy all the damage she's causing," Jerome said. "I should know; I've done it before."

"Well then, let's go," Phoebe said. Jerome grabbed Phoebe and Paige and Orbed them to the highest location he could think of, other than the top of Golden Gate Bridge.

"Hey!" Chris yelled. "Wait for me!" Chris Orbed to follow them.

Jerome, Phoebe, and Paige all Orbed a few feet away from Piper. She was watching the city as the storm ravaged it. "Piper!" Phoebe yelled.

"Get away from me!" Piper replied.

"We're here to take you home! To your family!" Paige said.

Piper turned to look at them. Her face had a harsh, aggressive look, yet underneath all the ferocity of the angry goddess was pain and sorrow. "What family?" Piper asked.

"You're son. Wyatt. Remember him? He needs his mother," Phoebe said.

"He's already lost his father, don't take away his mother, too!" Jerome shouted.

Piper screamed in angry and sadness. Behind her bolts of lightning struck the city. Jerome turned to Phoebe. "What do we do?" Jerome asked. "How can we calm her down?"

"She needs to talk to her husband," Phoebe said. "She needs to talk to Leo."

Jerome remote Orbed Leo down to them. "What the-?" Leo asked, completely disoriented. Leo turned and saw Jerome. "What am I doing here?" he asked.

"You need to talk to Piper. Try to calm her down," Jerome said.

Leo looked at Piper, saw the damage she'd caused, and walked over to her. The storm lightened as soon as Piper saw Leo. Jerome grabbed Phoebe and Paige and Orbed them back to the manor.

Jerome looked around for Chris. The mysterious boy from the future had disappeared. Jerome had several things the discuss with Chris. Jerome remote Orbed Chris into the manor. Chris showed up, confused. He looked around and snapped angrily at Jerome. "Hey, do you mind? I was doing something!" Chris said.

"Yeah, I'm not done with you," Jerome said.

"Well, if I remember correctly, you're last question involved finding out what I was and why I was here, right?" Chris asked. Jerome nodded.

"Well, I've already said this before, so I'll say it again. I'm a Whitelighter and I'm here to help the sisters beat the Titans," Chris said.

Jerome doubted that was all there was to his motives. Jerome, however, also doubted that he would be able to get anything else from Chris, at least at the time, so he didn't push. Instead, he went with "So, why don't you tell us about yourself? We know next to nothing about you."

"Well, I'm a Whitelighter from the future," Chris said.

"How do you know us?" Paige asked.

"I'm a... family friend," Chris said. Jerome noticed the slight hesitation in Chris' words, but didn't push it. Jerome suspected Chris wouldn't answer.

Jerome was about to ask another question when Piper Orbed in, dressed normally and not bursting with goddess power. "Piper!" Phoebe asked.

"How are you doing?" Paige asked.

"Bad," Piper replied. She stormed up the stairs, probably to be with Wyatt.

"She'll be fine, eventually," Phoebe said. Jerome wasn't entirely sure about that.

Author's Note:

The Titans and all that goddess stuff is now done. The next chapter will introduce Melinda. The powers I'm giving her are telekinetic Orbing, hovering, and molecular deceleration. If anyone wants one of these changed, let me know and I'll take it into consideration. I'm not adding any new powers, though. She may develop new ones as the story progresses, but she's only starting with three. On another note, please leave a review. I don't really care what it's about, I just want to hear from you.


	11. Chapter 11

I was given a few requests about Melinda's powers. First off was a request to change hovering to levitation. Since the powers are so similar I see nothing wrong with doing that, though I'd rather have her start with hovering then have the power advance to levitation. Second was a replacement of telekinetic Orbing to just telekinesis. The issues I have with this are that telekinesis is already possessed by several major characters in the story (Jerome, Chris, etc), and while they also have telekinetic Orbing as a subset of that power, they generally don't use it. I want Melinda to be a bit more restricted about her telekinetic powers, and I want her to have that in common with her aunt, Paige. It can be some kind of bonding point or something. The last thing I want to address is Melinda's magical species. In this story, Leo was a Whitelighter when Melinda was conceived. At least, in the dark future she and Chris come from. So, she is half Whitelighter, mostly because I need it for a few plot points. These were excellent comments, they just don't fit in for what I have planned in my head.

Chapter 11:

Two months had passed since Leo became an Elder. Piper had, after much coaxing and some threats from her sisters, come out of her room and was making a halfhearted attempt at being a part of the family. Chris was assigned to be the Charmed Ones new Whitelighter, since the Elders couldn't risk sending him back to the future. In the two months since Chris had become their Whitelighter the sisters had learned one thing from him: he was neurotically obsessed with demon hunting. Phoebe doubted it was healthy. They liked Chris, at least when he wasn't forcing them to vanquish demons, and they trusted him, to an extent. Jerome, however, didn't feel the same way. Jerome didn't trust Chris as far as Chris could throw him (he would say as far as he could throw Chris, but Jerome had the power to throw Chris very, very far, so that saying wasn't all that applicable).

Jerome had other issues, though. The Destroyer's release was almost at hand, and the Destroyer had found a way to keep Jerome and the Council from watching him. Jerome had no idea when the Destroyer was going to be released, and he would have no knowledge of it until He attacked. For all Jerome knew, He could have been free at that moment. Jerome knew he had to do something, and fast. However, Jerome couldn't risk telling the sisters everything, or it may overwhelm them. Jerome needed to sisters to find out about the Destroyer on their own, more or less. So, Jerome searched through the Book of Shadows, hoping to find something about the Destroyer in there.

After searching for what seemed like hours, Jerome found an entry on the Ancients. It would have to do. It may at least open the sisters up to the possibility of the existence of the Destroyer. Jerome read the entry. It was pitifully small. Jerome decided just to leave the Book open to that page, so that when the sisters came to check on something they would see the entry. And, with Chris around, Jerome had a feeling that the sisters were going to be checking the Book in a matter of minutes.

"Jerome!" Paige called from downstairs. Jerome walked downstairs to see Phoebe and Paige arguing with Chris.

"Hello," Jerome said.

"Could you please tell Chris that he needs to lighten up with all the demons? I barely have time to breathe!" Paige said.

"You're the Charmed Ones. It's your duty to vanquish any evil that threatens us," Chris said.

Jerome sighed. "Why don't you two go check the Book for whatever demon your Whitelighter has you after this time while I try to convince him to ease up on the demon hunting," Jerome said. Phoebe and Paige agreed.

"Look, I have future knowledge that all these demons are going to cause some serious problems if we don't deal with them," Chris said.

"The future has changed, far more than you may realize," Jerome said. "The beauty of the future is that it isn't set in stone. It is subject to change, and change it does. Ease up on them and try to restrict yourself to no more than two demons a day."

Chris looked outraged. "Only two? How are we ever supposed to get them if we only hunt down two a day?" he asked. This had been a pattern between the two. Chris was worried about demons and was pushing the sisters into vanquishing as many as he could think of, whereas Jerome was worried about the Destroyer and was trying to train the sisters to be as ready as they possibly could be before His arrival. As a result, the two often butted heads and the sisters would have to call on one or the other to try to get the other to see reason.

* * *

Paige had seen the page in the Book about the Ancients. "Hey, Phoebe? Have you ever heard of the Ancients before?" Paige asked.

"The whats? No," Phoebe replied.

"Come, look here," Paige said. Paige tapped the page in the Book. Phoebe came over to look. "'Creatures older than time and space, they have absolute and unlimited power over their spheres of influence. There are five confirmed ones, possibly more. The only known way to defeat one is to seal it somewhere its sphere of influence has no power. Nothing more is known about them,'" Paige read.

"Are they who Chris is sending us after?" Phoebe asked.

"No, but I wonder if he knows anything about them," Paige replied. "Chris! Get up here!"

Chris came running up the stairs. "Did you find anything?" he asked.

"No, not on your demon, but have you ever heard of the Ancients?" Paige asked.

"The whats? No, and they aren't our problem. The demon is," Chris said.

"Fine, we'll vanquish your demon first. But we're researching these Ancients. The Book was open right to the page when we came up here, there's got to be a reason for that," Paige said.

Chris sighed. "Fine. Just, make sure you vanquish the demon first," Chris said. Paige and Phoebe found the demon in the Book and began working on a vanquish.

* * *

The Destroyer's chains were nearly broken. Soon, very soon, He would be free once more. This time, however, He had managed to muster enough power to destroy any attempts at looking into His miserable little realm. The Defenders would have no knowledge of when His attack began. He was nearly ready, and His power was growing. Soon, no one would be able to stop Excisio, the Destroyer.

Excisio was beginning to doubt Himself, ever so slightly. He had broken free in the past, and every time He had been resealed. Something had to change. Excision had told the Defenders that His nature would never change, that His motives would always be destruction. This was completely true, however His methods could, and often would, change. He needed an ally. Someone who would do His bidding in His stead. If He Himself were to start the chain of destruction, the Defenders would catch on immediately and put everything they had into sealing Him away. However, if another were to begin a chain of destruction, the Defenders would be none the wiser. Excisio knew who to use.

Excisio used some of His power to destroy the barrier around His realm, opening Himself to the Demonic Wasteland. There was one there who would make an excellent ally. An unnamed demon who had incredible potential for power, yet was vanquished before he ever got the chance to use it. In the Wasteland, however, he was very much alive. Excisio shattered the barrier in the Wasteland, right at the demon's feet, bringing the demon to His realm. The barriers almost immediately repaired themselves afterwards.

The demon stood up, turned around, and looked at Excisio. "Who are you and what do you want?" the demon asked. The demon had brown hair and brown eyes. He looked young, and was fairly tall and muscular. He had a powerful aura around him, and he exuded a certain amount of confidence that force most people to yield to him. Excisio was not impressed.

"I am Excisio, the Destroyer. I have brought you here for one purpose," the Destroyer began.

"Let me guess," the demon interrupted. "You want me to free you, and in exchange you'll get me out of the Wasteland? Sorry, not interested."

"That wasn't what I was going to say," Excisio snarled. "You work with me once I'm free, and in exchange you get to exist. I'll even throw in the chance for revenge against the Charmed Ones. After all, aren't they the reason you're stuck in the Wasteland?"

The demon thought. "I don't know. Revenge has never really been much of a concern of mine. And as far as your deal goes, just existence as a reward is hardly enticing," the demon said.

Excisio growled. "What more do you want?" He asked.

"I don't know what your plans are, but when you're done I want to be free to go. And not back to the Wasteland," the demon said.

"Deal," Excisio said. The demon would be free to go once everything was completely obliterated.

"Great. So, what do I do know? Do you need me to free you?" the demon asked.

"No, I can break these on my own. I just need a little more time. What I need from you is a name. What do I call you?" the Destroyer asked.

The demon thought for a few minutes. "I don't know. I was never really given much of a name. I guess you can just call me Cole. After all, it was my father's name."

* * *

Paige and Phoebe had taken care of the demon Chris had sent them after. It wasn't a very powerful demon, and the only damage it had done was ruining Paige's shirt and Phoebe's shoes with its guts after it was vanquished.

Paige Orbed herself and Phoebe back to the manor. Paige went upstairs to change into a clean shirt and, hopefully, remove the demon goo from the one she was wearing. Phoebe threw her shoes away. They were old, in poor condition, and covered in demon guts.

Chris Orbed behind Phoebe. "Did you guys vanquish the demon?" he asked.

Phoebe jumped. "Don't sneak up on me like that! And yes, we did," Phoebe said.

"Good," Chris said.

"Have you learned anything about the Ancients?" Phoebe asked.

Chris sighed. "I was hoping you had forgotten," he admitted.

"So does that mean no?"

"I asked around. No one I spoke to knows anything more than what's in the Book, and those are the few that know anything at all," Chris said.

Phoebe was about to say something when she heard a loud crash come from the attic. "Paige? Piper?" Phoebe called. There was no reply. Phoebe ran up the stairs to see what happened.

When Phoebe got to the attic she saw a young girl lying on the floor. The girl looked to be about 18 years old and had long, dark hair, kind of like Piper's. In fact, the girl looked a quite a bit like Piper did when she was that age. Phoebe didn't dwell too long on how similar her sister and this girl looked, though. Phoebe checked to see if the girl was alright. She was passed out, but seemed to be otherwise alright.

Paige and Piper came running into the attic shortly afterwards. "What happened? Are you okay, Phoebe?" Paige asked.

Piper noticed the girl on the floor and asked "Who's she?"

Phoebe looked at Piper, glad to see her older sister interested in something. Piper had only just been coaxed out of her room a few days prior and hadn't shown much interest in anything. She made halfhearted attempts at being a part of the family and had vanquished a demon since then (which was almost nothing compared to the fifty or so demons Chris seemed to be setting them after per day), but she seemed extremely distant and rather uncaring.

"I don't know," Phoebe said. "She was like this when I got here."

Chris entered the attic. "What's going on?" he asked. His eyes fell to the girl, and Phoebe swore she saw a flash of recognition and shock for a brief moment before Chris masked himself again.

"We found this girl unconscious in our attic. Do you know her?" Phoebe asked.

Chris didn't answer. Instead, he walked up to her, knelt down to check on her, picked her up, and said "She needs healing. I'll take her to the Elders and have one of them heal her."

"Why can't you do it?" Phoebe asked.

"Uh, well, I can't heal yet," Chris confessed.

"Wait, what kind of a Whitelighter can't heal?" Paige asked.

"Hey, you can't heal either," Chris said.

"Yeah, well I'm only half Whitelighter," Paige replied. So am I, Chris thought. However, he kept that to himself.

"Healing is big, and I'm still pretty new to the whole Whitelighter thing," Chris said. The girl started to stir.

"She's waking up. I'd better get her to a healer, fast," Chris said. Chris Orbed to the middle of a forested area. He put the girl down and waited for her to wake up. After a few minutes, she did.

"Chris," she muttered.

"Hi, Mel," Chris said. The girl got up and hugged Chris.

"I've missed you so much!" the girl said.

"I missed you, too, Melinda," Chris said, using her full name to try to show some degree of sternness. He failed. Chris was never able to stay mad at her for very long.

Chris broke away from Melinda's hug. "What are you doing here? I specifically told you not to follow me," Chris asked.

Melinda smiled. "You know how good little sisters are at listening to their older brothers," she said.

Chris sighed. "Yeah, with little things, like cleaning up or quieting down. This is completely different," he said. "Why did you come here?"

Melinda's smile faded. She visibly saddened. "It's getting worse, Chris. Without you, the entire resistance has faded. They've either all been caught and imprisoned or forced into hiding. The only reason I made it was because Bianca sacrificed herself to save me," she said.

Chris was shocked to hear that. "So, you came here because it isn't safe for you in the future," Chris said. Melinda nodded. "It's going to be extremely dangerous here, too, you know. That's why I was chosen, because it's so dangerous," Chris said.

"It can't be any less safe here than it is there," Melinda said. "At least here I have you, Mom, Aunt Phoebe, and Aunt Paige to protect me. There I have no one." Tears began to pool up in Melinda's eyes.

Chris couldn't bear to see his little sister cry, so he hugged her and said "It'll be okay. I promise, I'll fix everything."

Melinda nodded and whispered "I know."

Chris let go and said "You know we can't tell them who we are, right?"

Melinda nodded. "And we can't let them know we're related, to each other or to them," Chris said.

"Why not to each other? What harm could that cause?" Melinda asked.

"You look a little too much like Mom. We might be able to pass it off as just a coincidence, but if they guess at you being Piper's daughter, it would expose me as her son. This won't work if they know I'm Piper's son," Chris said.

"So, what do we tell them?" Melinda asked.

"Well, they know me as Chris Perry, a Whitelighter from the future and a family friend," Chris said.

"Why can't I be a Whitelighter from the future, too?" Melinda asked.

Chris laughed a bit. "Mel, you can't even Orb. They wouldn't believe you're a Whitelighter for a second. You'll have to pass as a normal witch. You said you can slow things down, kind of like how Mom freezes time, right?"

Melinda nodded. "Then use that as your main active power. Don't use any telekinetic Orbing, since that would be a dead giveaway for you being half Whitelighter," Chris said.

"Can I use my hovering power, too?" Melinda asked.

"Do you use Orbs when you use it?"

"Not anymore. I've gotten to the point where I don't need any Orbs to help me hover," Melinda said.

Chris was a bit surprised to hear that. "Good for you. It seems like you're going to develop levitation soon, like Aunt Phoebe, if you can hover without Orbs.

"So, to answer your question, yes, you can hover as long as you make absolutely certain not to use any Orbs when you do. Got it?"

Melinda nodded. "Great. Now all we need is a cover name," Chris said.

"Can I still keep my first name?" Melinda asked. "You did."

"Yeah, but you need a different last name," Chris said.

Melinda thought for a moment. "How about Mitchel?" she asked, thinking of one of her Aunt's ex-boyfriends.

Chris nodded. "Yeah, that'd work. Aunt Paige has started dating Henry yet. Come one, we'd better get back to the sisters before they start to worry. And if they ask, you're a friend of mine who came back from the future to make sure I'm okay." Melinda agreed and grabbed Chris' arm. Chris Orbed the two of them back to the manor.

* * *

Jerome had come just as Chris had taken the girl away. "What happened here?" Jerome asked.

Paige turned around. "We found a girl on the floor. Chris said he was taking her to the Elders to heal her," she said.

Jerome nodded. That should keep Chris busy for a bit. "Did you get the demon he sent you after?" Jerome asked.

"Yeah, though it cost me my shoes," Phoebe said.

"And the demon was in the Book?" Jerome asked, hoping the sisters would say something about the Ancients.

He wasn't disappointed. "Yeah, and when we first went to check the Book it was open to a page about Ancients. Do you know anything about them?" Paige asked.

"Other than that they are incredibly powerful and few, no," Jerome said. He told the complete truth. Jerome knew next to nothing about the Ancients. The Ancients were the subject of many stories and legends, but Jerome doubted most of them could be trusted as solid fact.

Paige looked at Phoebe. "Well, the Book was open to that page for a reason. We need to learn more about them," Phoebe said.

"Agreed," Paige said. Piper said nothing.

A few seconds later Chris and the girl Orbed back into the attic. "This is Melinda Mitchel. She's a friend of mine from the future," Chris said.

"Why didn't you tell us that before?" Piper asked.

"Sorry, I was a bit worried about her," Chris replied.

"Well, I'm Phoebe Halliwell, and these are my sisters, Piper and Paige," Phoebe said.

Jerome stepped forward. "My name is Jerome," he said.

"Nice to meet you," Melinda said.

"So, are you a Whitelighter, like Chris?" Paige asked.

Melinda shook her head. "No, I'm a witch, like you," Melinda said.

"We never said we were witches," Piper said.

Melinda didn't say anything. She looked nervous, like she'd just said something she shouldn't have. "Well, considering the fact that I Orbed into the attic, right in front of you, and openly said that we're from the future, I imagine Melinda figured out that you're witches pretty easily," Chris said.

Piper shrugged. "So," Phoebe started, "if you're a witch, and Chris is a Whitelighter, does that mean you're his charge? Or are you two just friends?"

Chris thought that he being Melinda's Whitelighter was a much better cover story than that they were just friends. Melinda, however, seemed to disagree. "No, we're just friends," Melinda said. It seemed that Melinda didn't want the sisters thinking that Chris was her Whitelighter.

Jerome sighed. He could tell that this girl from the future was going to cause him serious problems. She was already slowing down the sisters search for information about the Ancients, and there was little time to spare. The Destroyer was coming.

Author's Note:

Melinda is finally a part of this story. The Destroyer now has a partner, and we know that Paige does NOT marry Henry. Revealing chapter. What do you guys think of it? How did I do with Melinda? How did I do with her interactions with other characters? How did I do with story ideas? Please, leave me a review telling me what you think and any suggestions you have for this story. I like suggestions and thoughts. I like them very much.


	12. Chapter 12

So, I've recently become somewhat obsessed with Once Upon A Time. I will do my best to keep this story as Charmed as possible, but some Once Upon A Time elements may creep into this story. If that happens, I'm sorry.

Chapter 12:

"Do you have anywhere to stay?" Phoebe asked Melinda. Melinda had been hanging around the manor for a few hours. Piper was in the kitchen preparing dinner while Paige was looking for clothes for Melinda to wear. Melinda had only a ragged t-shirt and a pair of very dirty jeans.

"Uh, I was just going to stay with Chris," Melinda said.

"Oh. Are you two, you know, together?" Phoebe asked, wondering if their neurotic Whitelighter from the future actually had a romantic life.

Melinda looked disgusted and horrified. "Ew! No, we are NOT together!" she said. Well, so much for their neurotic Whitelighter having a love life.

"Well, why don't you stay here with us?" Phoebe asked.

Paige came down from upstairs. "In what room?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah, good point," Phoebe said. Jerome came in from the kitchen.

"She can stay in my room," Jerome said.

"Have you been listening in on our conversation?" Paige asked.

"Yes," Jerome simply replied.

"Wait, if she stays in your room, then where will you stay?" Phoebe asked.

"A cave. The same place I stayed for the year after I left," Jerome replied.

"No, we can't let you stay in a cave!" Paige exclaimed.

"Why not? I'm rarely in my room anyway, and when I am it's only to sleep. I can sleep just as effectively in a cave as I can in a bed," Jerome said.

"But, what about wild animals?" Paige asked lamely. She knew she was running out of excuses, but she wasn't ready to give up.

"I am a somewhat omnipotent being capable of producing more than eighteen trillion exawatts of electrical power. I think I can handle a rogue animal," Jerome said.

"I can't sleep in a room knowing I've kicked you out," Melinda said. Melinda didn't really get much of a chance to get to know Jerome in the future, since Chris never trusted him as far as he could (physically) throw him. However, she couldn't knowingly kick someone out of their bed, whether her brother trusted him or not.

Jerome turned and looked at her. "Well, I'm staying in a cave whether you take the room or not. I would recommend you take advantage of the vacant room."

Melinda looked at Jerome, conflicted. "Well, I guess if you're not going to stay there anyway I could..."

Paige turned to Jerome. "You didn't have to give up your room, you know. We could have worked something out."

"I meant what I said. I wasn't planning on staying there anyway. I have a lot to do, and will only be here for about six hours a day," Jerome replied.

"What is it you have to do?" Paige asked.

"A lot of various things," Jerome replied with a tone that said that arguing would be futile.

"Okay. Well, if there's anything you need us to do, just ask," Paige said, expecting Jerome to shoot her offer down.

She was completely surprised when Jerome said "Actually, if you could find out whatever you can about the Ancients, that might help."

"Wait, your stuff is about the Ancients?" Paige asked.

Jerome paused. "I'm not entirely sure just yet. I don't know much about the Ancients, so I have no idea if I'm going to be dealing with one." Jerome Flamed away, likely to the Underworld. The sisters had figured out that Jerome prefered to Flicker as his means of teleportation. Any other type was used for a specific purpose. Shimmering and Flaming were usually used as his means into the Underworld, since most other types would alert the demons to an invader.

* * *

The time had come. The bonds were loose enough that Excisio could break them, shatter them. Cole, Excisio's demonic ally, was there. Excisio had no need for him to be there, other than to show him how much power He possessed. The Destroyer took his right arm and swung it forward, shattering the golden chain that held it. Once the chain was broken, the cuff around His wrist faded. Excisio repeated the process with His left arm, shattering that chain as well. Excisio was free. The Destroyer was free. He was free, and he wanted vengeance. He turned to Cole. "The time has come. I am free," Excisio said.

"I can see that," Cole replied.

"How long have you been in existence?" Excisio asked.

"Well, that's an odd way to phrase the question, but I'd say about a year or so," Cole replied.

Excisio looked at him oddly. "A year? Were you artificially created?"

"No, I was just given the 'gift' of age after my premature death. I've been around for a year, but I'm as old as a twenty-four year old man," Cole said.

"So, you have been around for an almost negligible amount of time," Excisio said. "Excellent."

"Why is that excellent?"

"The less tied you are to this existence, the easier the transition will be to the next one," the Destroyer said.

"Okay... So, what do we do now?" Cole asked.

"Patience. In time, we will strike. But for now, we watch, and learn." Excisio waved His hand, and where His hand passed a hole appeared. Cole looked into the hole to see a garden area with several roped people around a large table.

"What's this place?" Cole asked.

"The Garden, home to my captors," Excisio snarled. "And the only ones with enough power and influence to lock me up again."

"Great. So, what do we do about them?" Cole asked.

"For now, we watch. When the time comes, they will be eradicated!"

Author's Note:

This was a much shorter chapter than the last few. Don't worry, the chapters will pick back up in length and speed (hopefully) before too long. I'm not entirely sure what I should be having the sisters do, and as far as the Destroyer, yeah, He's free, but He's going to bide his time. He shattered the ability the Council had to see into His realm, so other than Himself and Cole, no one knows He's free. And He intends to keep it that way. Please leave a review, especially if it involves the sisters doing something. I'm out of ideas at the moment, and desperately need some inspiration. Please, help a writer out.


	13. Chapter 13

I would like to publicly, or I guess (WARNING: Bad pun alert!) publishly thank CharmedOpal for reminding me about Phoebe's empathy power. I had completely forgotten about giving it to her until their review. So, in case you haven't guessed yet, that's mainly what this chapter will be about.

Chapter 13:

Two days had passed and Melinda was fitting in nicely with the sisters. She was comfortable with them, and was able to keep her mouth shut about future events without irritating them. Chris appreciated her silence, whereas the sisters appreciated how she kept her silence in a way that didn't make them half want to vanquish her, whereas Chris was annoying about protecting future knowledge.

Unfortunately, however, the Charmed Ones had made absolutely no progress on the Ancients, and it wasn't for a lack of trying. They asked Elders, Seers, Soothsayers, they even went as far as trying to summon an Angel of Destiny. The summoning worked, but the Angel knew nothing useful.

"It seems like the only way to learn about the Ancients is to summon one and ask him," Paige had said after the Angel of Destiny left.

"So it seems," Jerome replied. "But we can't give up. They're important, we just need to find out why."

"Wait, could we summon one?" Phoebe asked.

Jerome thought for a moment. "There's no spell in the Book, but you might be able to write one. I don't know how well it will work. Best case scenario is that the spell manages to summon one. Worst case scenario is that the spell does nothing and they don't even hear our call."

"Couldn't you write it?" Paige asked.

Jerome shook his head. "I might be able to make one, but none of my spells utilize the Power of Three. One of you would have to write it."

"So, if we write a spell, do you think we'd be able to summon an Ancient?" Paige asked.

Jerome didn't say anything for a while. Eventually, he said "I definitely think one of them will hear your call. They may just ignore it, though."

"Wait, what do you mean by ignore it?" Phoebe asked. "Can they do that?"

"Some magical creatures can ignore a summoning spell. Certain ghosts can, but it usually hurts them to do it. The feeling is kind of like a hook ripping out your guts. If you can ignore that, then you can ignore the summon," Jerome replied.

"We've been summoned before, and I don't remember any feeling like that," Paige said.

"You're witches. Witches don't have the power to ignore a summon. Neither do demons, Whitelighters, mortals, Elders, warlocks, or, if the spell is strong enough, Angels of Destiny," Jerome said.

"So, what can? Other than ghosts?" Phoebe asked.

"Defenders, Avatars, the Angel of Death, and, possibly, Ancients," Jerome replied.

"What are Avatars?" Paige asked.

"A bunch of radical revolutionists who have absolutely no idea how the balance of the world works. Don't worry about them, they're unimportant," Jerome said.

"Could they know about the Ancients?" Phoebe asked.

"I really doubt it. They don't really know that much of anything, other than power and magic," Jerome replied.

That was the day before. Jerome kept looking, but the more he looked the more and more he was convinced that no creature save for the Ancients themselves knew anything about them. Jerome refused to give up, however. He had decided to spend less time searching for answers about the Ancients and focused more on finding ways to seal powerful creatures. That search proved more useful and productive. Jerome learned several methods of sealing powerful creatures. While he doubted that any of them would work against the Destroyer, he did believe that he could combine several of the methods together, along with several other magicks he could add, might be able to seal the Destroyer.

However, at that moment Jerome was at the manor. Phoebe was at some interview for her "Ask Phoebe" column and Paige was trying to teach Melinda how to dress for a formal occasion. Melinda only ever wore jeans and t-shirts, since the future was full of danger and had little time to dress up, and Paige was determined to change that. "You really are a beautiful girl, you just need a little refining," Paige had said.

Chris was demon hunting, again, and Piper was "getting out more." Paige and Phoebe had told her that she needed some air and to get out of the house more, so that's what Piper was doing. As a result, Jerome was alone with Melinda and Paige. He wouldn't have minded it if it weren't for the fact that they were busy giving Melinda a makeover and wanted Jerome's input. Jerome's opinion was more of a "that outfit looks highly flammable, I recommend against it" or a "that looks like it would really restrict mobility, don't bother with that." Paige didn't like those answers, though. She wanted Jerome to say what he thought about the outfit as far as aesthetics went. Jerome didn't want to answer those questions. Besides, he was fairly certain his opinions would be wrong.

Melinda was trying on another dress while Jerome was desperately trying to make up an excuse for why he couldn't stay. Luckily, that excuse came in the form of Phoebe returning. "Paige! Piper!" Phoebe called.

Paige came running downstairs. "Hey, Pheebs, Piper's gone. You're just in time to help me out with Melinda. Jerome's no help at all," Paige said.

"Apparently I'm supposed to know all about mortal fashion and how clothing looks rather than how effective it is to wear," Jerome replied.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's great. I just got a new power!" Phoebe said, completely disregarding what Paige and Jerome had said.

"Really? What power?" Paige asked.

"I am an empath," Phoebe said dramatically.

"Your new power is empathy?" Jerome asked, completely unimpressed.

"Yeah, isn't it great?" Phoebe asked. Phoebe hadn't seemed to have picked up that Jerome was completely unimpressed.

"What's empathy?" Paige asked.

"The ability to feel the emotions of others," Jerome replied.

Paige was about to say something when Melinda came down the stairs. Melinda was wearing a green dress that went all the way down to her ankles. Her hair was in a ponytail and she looked really uncomfortable. At least, that was how Jerome saw it. "Oh, honey, you look beautiful!" Phoebe said.

I have no idea how fashion works, Jerome thought to himself. Phoebe didn't seem to pick up that emotion either. Melinda smiled until she tripped over the dress and fell down the rest of the steps. "Ow!" Phoebe exclaimed.

Paige ran up to her. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Ow," Melinda groaned. "Can I take this off now?"

"Yeah, here, let me help you up," Paige said. Paige helped Melinda upstairs, leaving Phoebe with Jerome.

"I figured something like that was going to happen sooner or later," Jerome said.

"Wow," Phoebe said.

"What?" Jerome asked.

"I don't feel anything," Phoebe said.

"What?"

"Exactly! I should be able to feel your confusion, but I've got nothing. I don't think I can sense your emotions," Phoebe said.

"I am a Defender. Maybe my people are immune to empathy," Jerome said. "It would explain why none of us can ever feel each others' emotions."

The sound of a car door closing came from outside. "I think Piper's home," Jerome said.

"Ooh, I can't wait to tell her about my new power!" Phoebe said.

* * *

The Destroyer recognized the Defender with the Charmed Ones. He was one of the ones who came to "release" him back in the past. He Destroyer was unaware of how much time had passed since then; when one is immortal, in a realm where time doesn't flow normally, and alone one loses any sense of the passage of time. But he still recognized that face. That was the Defender who had cast the spell to free him back then. That was the Defender who had foolishly rushed him with nothing more than a sword. "Cole," Excisio said. "I have a task for you. Call it a test."

"What?" Cole asked in the insolent, bored tone he always used.

"Attack the Charmed Ones and their Defender. Let me see how powerful you are, and how powerful they are," Excisio replied.

"No demon has ever gone up against the Charmed Ones and lived to tell the tale. Why would I be any different?" Cole asked.

"Because you have something that no other demon has ever had before; Charmed blood. Half demon, half witch. You have more power than any demon has ever had before," Excisio said.

"I still don't know," Cole replied.

"Your father was the Source of All Evil, and your mother is a Charmed One. You have the blood one of the most powerful witches to ever exist and the mightiest demon of all time," Excisio said. He was getting impatient.

"What about their Defender? Isn't he supposed to be one of the most powerful creatures in existence?" Cole asked.

Excisio growled. He waved his hand in front of Cole. Cole glowed in a purple light, which then erupted in a fiery glow. "W-what did you do to me?" Cole gasped.

"As a demon you naturally have your powers capped at a maximum. They can never pass a certain point. I destroyed that cap, allowing your powers to be used in full, like the Defenders. Now, go!" Excisio said.

Cole Flamed to the manor. He was in the kitchen. He could hear Phoebe and Piper in the foyer. Phoebe was excited about her new power. Phoebe, his mother. She tried to be a good mom, but she had failed. Of course, when Cole was in the womb, he had had a rather unpleasant habit of taking over his mother's body and attacking his Aunt Paige. And he was quite the little pyromaniac. Cole was resigned to his fate. He didn't think he deserved it, but he bore no ill feelings towards anyone because of it. Even his hatred of Paige had died down. However, just because he bore them no ill didn't mean he loved them. Far from it. Cole had no issues at all with hurting his "family" if it came to it. His main concern was survival. He was willing to do whatever it took to survive.

* * *

Jerome had sensed someone Flaming in the kitchen. Jerome decided to leave the two sisters to go investigate. Neither noticed when he walked away. Jerome entered the kitchen and saw a demon, standing there. "Who are you?" Jerome asked. Demons appearing in the kitchen couldn't be a good sign, but this demon had yet to attack.

"I go by Cole, like my father," the demon, Cole, replied.

"Why are you here?" Jerome asked.

"I was sent on a mission. Attack the Charmed Ones to allow my boss to gauge how strong they are," Cole said.

"What makes you think either you or your demonic boss will be able to beat the Charmed Ones?" Jerome asked.

"Who said my boss was a demon?" Cole asked. Cole blasted Jerome with an intense stream of blue fire. The fire not only knocked Jerome back into the foyer, getting the attention of Piper and Phoebe, but it also disintegrated all of Jerome's body. Jerome quickly began regrowing, though at a slower rate than normal. Piper and Phoebe yelled for Paige and ran into the kitchen. They gasped when they saw the demon in the kitchen, and his uncanny resemblance to Cole.

"Cole," Phoebe gasped.

The demon turned to look at her. "Hello, mom," he said.

"Mom?" Piper asked, confused. "When were you a mom?"

"When she was pregnant with the Source's demon child, when she was pregnant with me," the demon replied.

"Who are you?" Phoebe asked.

"I'm your son, yours and Cole Turner's. I've been using my dear old dad's name, since you never bothered to give me one," Cole said.

"You were vanquished before you were born. And that was only a year and a half ago. How did you grow so much?" Phoebe asked.

"The Wasteland does some pretty awful things to children. So I grew up to protect myself. Not like I had much choice," Cole said.

"Are you angry at us? Is that why you're here, to get revenge?" Piper asked.

"No, I'm not sensing any anger from him. Just acceptance," Phoebe said.

Paige came into the kitchen then. "What's going on?" Paige asked.

"Took you long enough," Piper snapped.

"Sorry, I was trying to help Melinda," Paige said. She noticed Cole and immediately became tense. "Am I crazy, or did Cole come back from the dead again?"

"Both, technically," Piper said. Paige looked at her confused.

"His name is Cole, but he isn't the Cole. You remember my unborn baby who hated you, right?" Phoebe asked.

"This is him? How?" Paige asked.

"An entire life spent in the Wasteland can do that to you, but don't worry. I'm not angry, and I don't hate you anymore, Auntie Paige," Cole said. "My employer brought me back to assist him and has sent me here to gauge how strong you are. Shall we get this over with?"

Piper didn't wait for another signal. She tried to blow Cole up, but Cole resisted her power. It did cause him to stagger, though. Cole conjured a blue fireball and threw it at Piper. Piper flinched and let the fireball phase through her. Paige called "Fireball!" and directed the fireball back at Cole. The fireball disappeared in a swirl or Orbs and reappeared in front of Cole, heading straight for him. Cole blasted the fireball with a stream of fire, destroying the fireball in a violent explosion. The explosion knocked all three of the sisters onto their backs, and sent Cole into the pantry. Cole got up and saw the sisters on the ground. They were struggling to get back up. Cole flicked his wrist and telekinetically knocked Paige out. Phoebe, probably because of her empathy power, passed out, too. That left only Piper.

"So, Aunt Piper, any last words?" Cole asked.

"Are you going to kill us?" Piper asked.

"If I have to," Cole said.

Cole didn't have a chance to do anything else before he was blasted back by powerful lightning. Jerome lunged for Cole and Flashed them away. Piper passed out from exhaustion moments later.

Jerome and Cole Flashed into the Sahara, somewhere Jerome was beginning to think of as a second home. "You and I will fight here," Jerome said. "No one else needs to get hurt."

"Works for me," Cole said. Cole threw another blue fireball at Jerome. Jerome telekinetically redirected it at Cole. Cole swatted the fireball away.

Jerome paused. "How do you have Enhanced powers?" he asked.

"Well, I don't really know what 'Enhanced' means, but I'm guessing you're referring to my blue fire. That came as a gift from my employer. He broke my power cap, giving me access to the strongest versions of my powers," Cole replied. "Impressed?"

"Nothing I can't handle," Jerome replied. Jerome blasted Cole with every ounce of lightning he could muster. Cole responded by blasting Jerome with all the fire he could summon. The two attacks met and began to react with each other. The lightning and the fire combined to create a huge explosion. The force of the explosion was so great that it left a giant crater in the desert. It completely destroyed Jerome's body, and sent Cole flying into the ocean. By the time Cole managed to recover enough to Flame back, Jerome had already regenerated. Both were panting, however.

"We seem pretty evenly matched," Cole said.

"We've barely been fighting," Jerome replied.

"Yet we've already managed to create a massive crater in the middle of Africa and have exhausted each other," Cole panted.

"I could do this all day," Jerome said.

"So could I," Cole replied.

Jerome, in response, drew his sword and rushed Cole. Cole tried using his telekinesis to throw Jerome away, but Jerome was using his own telekinesis to keep himself in place. Jerome swung his sword at Cole's neck. Cole ducked to avoid the blade. Jerome retaliated by quickly redirecting his sword at Cole's waist. Cole rolled away from Jerome to avoid the blade.

"See?" Cole asked, after standing. "Evenly matched."

"Well, what do we do about that?" Jerome asked.

"My assignment was to gauge how strong you are. I think I've accomplished my mission," Cole said.

"So, what, you're just going to leave?" Jerome asked.

"That's the plan. Bye," Cole said as he Flamed away. Jerome sighed and Flickered back to the manor.

When Jerome arrived at the manor he saw the Charmed Ones on the floor, still out cold. Jerome didn't have enough energy left to heal them. Melinda crawled down the stairs, saw Jerome, and asked "Is it safe to come out?"

Jerome nodded and said "They're hurt, and I'm exhausted. Could you look after them?" Melinda nodded. "Good," Jerome said. Jerome then went to the couch and collapsed on it, unable to do anything else.

* * *

Cole stumbled and collapsed as soon as he appeared in Excisio's realm. "The sisters were no problem at all, but the Defender and I were evenly matched," Cole said.

"Yes, I saw. But take heart; this Defender is far more dangerous than any of the others," the Destroyer said.

"Why's that? Is he more powerful?" Cole asked.

"No, more intelligent and crafty. The rest of his people rely on brute force alone to accomplish their goals. This one, however, uses his head and thinks about his battles. He plans, he strategizes, and he adapts. And he is extremely good at it, too. The rest aren't nearly as clever as he is," Excisio said.

"So what does that mean?" Cole asked.

"It means that you should be able to defeat some in battle, and bring them to me. So I can destroy them!"

"Great. When do we start?" Cole asked.

"As soon as we can," the Destroyer replied.

Author's Note:

Phoebe finally has her empathy power! It's about time. So, how do you like Cole and all this stuff that I wrote? Is it good? Please, leave a review letting me know if you liked it or not, and anything else you feel like saying. I may not always express it, but I appreciate each and every review I get, even if I don't take it into consideration with the story. I still want to hear from you.

On another note, I have been thinking about doing a Once Upon A Time story, but don't really have any ideas. My favorite characters are Rumpelstiltskin, Belle and Aurora, so I'd rather write about one of them. So, if any fans of the show want to PM me about an idea for that show, I'd like that. But I don't want any Once Upon A Time ideas in a review, I'd rather the reviews be about this FanFic.


	14. Chapter 14

This chapter is going to focus less on the sisters and more on the Destroyer and Cole. There will still be some of the sisters and Jerome, but less than previous chapters. Sorry if this offends or otherwise bothers anyone.

Chapter 14:

Two days had passed since Cole had attacked the Charmed Ones. Cole had taken those two days to heal from his battle with Jerome. That day, however, Excisio had a task for Cole. "You are to hunt down this Defender, defeat him, and bring him to me," Excisio said.

"Where is he?" Cole asked, thinking Excisio had intentionally left that part out.

The Destroyer, rather than replying, waved his hand in front of Cole. Cole saw a flash of light and found himself in the middle of a clearing in some forest. Cole looked around. He heard the sound of people coming from the east. Cole Flamed into a tree, where he was hidden from view, and waited. A few minutes later a tall, muscular man and a small girl entered the clearing. Cole frowned. Were these really Defenders? The man looked like he was no older than twenty five. But, then again, so did Jerome. The girl, however, looked to be eighteen or nineteen. One of them, the man, began to speak. Cole listened closely.

"I'm telling you, Marissa, Jerome's a traitor now. Our only choice is to hunt him down and kill him," the man said.

"We can't just kill him! He was our friend, and I think you just want revenge for how he beat you with only teleporting powers," the girl, Marissa, said.

"He must be punished! He betrayed us for a witch, he'll betray the entire plan, the entire Grand Design if we let him go unchecked!" the man replied.

"Paul! Listen to yourself! You're not thinking very rationally here! You're barely thinking at all!" Marissa said.

"Shut up! I will kill Jerome, no matter what it takes!" the man, Paul, replied.

"Even if it means destroying everything else in the process?" Marissa asked.

"Even then!" Paul replied.

Cole stopped. Maybe there was a way he could get this Defender to Excisio without having to waste his time fighting. If there was one thing that Cole had learned from his battle with Jerome, it was that these Defenders were not to be trifled with. If he could avoid combat, it would save him a world of pain.

Cole jumped down from the tree. Marissa jumped and shot some ice at him. Or, rather, it was more of a cloud of frigid air that froze everything it came in contact with. Cole responded by blasting this attack with a stream of blue fire. Paul was about to do something, Cole didn't know nor care what, but he stopped as soon as he saw Cole's fire. "How do you have enhanced powers?" Paul asked.

Marissa looked at Paul and then at Cole, a look of shock on her face. "Are you one of us?" she asked. "I've never seen you before."

Cole shook his head. "No, I'm not a Defender. I'm just a simple demon who happens to have a very, very powerful employer.

"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. I, too, have fought Jerome. He is a very powerful enemy. I would very much like to see him beaten, but I don't have the power to do so. My employer, however, does. Would you be interested in teaming up with us? I'm sure my employer would be more than happy to give you the killing strike," Cole said.

Paul looked very thoughtful, though from what Cole had seen of the brute, he doubted that was saying very much. Marissa, however, interrupted his train of thought. "Paul, you can't seriously be considering this?"

Cole internally groaned. From the looks of things, Paul was going to have to not only shut the girl up, but rethink his entire decision. "Yeah, I am. And why not? I told you, I will kill Jerome at all costs, no matter what it takes," Paul replied.

"But what about the Destroyer? His release is imminent, are you really going to risk letting Him destroy everything just for revenge?" Marissa asked. Imminent? Cole thought, He's already free, He's just biding His time.

"Yes, I am," Paul replied. Paul turned to Cole and said "Take me to your boss."

Cole obliged. He grabbed Paul by the shoulder and Flamed them to the Destroyer's realm. Marissa, at the last second, jumped on Paul's back, hitching a ride with them. When they arrived in the Destroyer's realm, Marissa fell off Paul and landed on her back. "What are you doing?" Cole snapped at her.

"I'm not letting my friend face this guy alone," Marissa replied stubbornly. She looked around. "Where are we?"

Cole sighed. "This is the realm my employer chooses to reside in. He should be over this way," Cole said. Cole lead them towards Excisio. Marissa, after a few minutes (or, rather, they felt like minutes) saw a huge, black figure.

"What's that?" Marissa asked.

"That would be my employer," Cole replied.

As they approached Him, Excisio said "I remember saying to defeat the Defender before bringing him here. And I never requested you bring the girl."

"I convinced him to come quietly. And I didn't bring her, she came on her own," Cole replied. As they got closer, Marissa could see some of the grotesque features that Cole's boss had. She saw his long horns, his slightly elongated face, his fangs, and his long, sharp claws.

Cole stopped. Paul and Marissa did likewise. "So, you two are what passes for Defenders these days? No wonder the seal became so weak," Excisio said.

Suddenly, Marissa realized who this was. He was the Destroyer. The biggest threat to the Grand Design ever to exist. Excisio saw the look on her face when she realized this and laughed. "So, you've figured out who I am. But it seems you friend hasn't. I am Excisio, the Destroyer," Excisio said.

"You, you're free?" Marissa asked.

Excisio nodded. "But... why? How did you...?" Marissa stuttered.

Cole rolled his eyes. "Do you plan on finishing any of those sentences?" he asked.

"Wait, if you're Him, the who are you?" Marissa asked, directing the last part of her question towards Cole.

"Like I said, I'm just a simple demon who was given great strength by the Destroyer. My name is Cole," Cole said.

"Paul, you can't honestly be thinking about teaming up with the Destroyer, can you?" Marissa asked.

"I said that I am willing to do whatever it takes to kill Jerome. Even if it means teaming up with the most destructive force to ever exist," Paul said.

"Paul, no! Please, don't do this! We have to get out of here, we have to warn the Council!" Marissa pleaded.

"Sorry, but I'm afraid I can't let you leave this realm," the Destroyer said. "Are you with me or against me?"

"I'm with you," Paul said.

"No! I refuse to let you do this!" Marissa said.

"Foolish girl," Excisio said. Excisio waved his hand in front of Marissa. She glowed in a dark light for a moment, then collapsed on the ground.

"W-what did you... do to me?" Marissa gasped.

"I destroyed your power to leave. Are you absolutely certain you won't join me?" Excisio asked.

"I... I'll never... join you!" Marissa said.

Excisio's expression became very dark. "Then die!"

Excisio charged up some black lightning in His right hand. He pointed His hand at Marissa when Paul said "No, stop!"

Excisio lowered His hand and asked Paul "What is the meaning of this insolence? You think you have the power to order me around?"

"N-no, no! Of course not, I-I was just going to ask you to spare her," Paul said.

"Why should I do that?" Excisio asked.

"Well," Cole began, "if you spare her you might be able to use her as bait for other Defenders. Maybe for even for Jerome."

Excisio thought for a moment. "Very well," He said. "But on one condition!" Excisio waved his hand in front of Marissa. She glowed in a dark light again, and screamed in pain.

Marissa, after a few seconds, but what felt like a few hours to her, passed out. "What did you do to her?" Paul asked.

"I already have a fire user, now I have an ice user. She has only the powers of cryokinesis and regeneration now. In time, she will join me," Excisio replied. "Now you," Excisio said to Paul. "Shall be lightning." Excisio waved his hand in front of Paul. Paul glowed in a dark light and screamed in pain. He, however, didn't pass out.

"What did you do to me?" Paul asked weakly.

"Your powers have been reduced. You now have only electrokinesis, lightning teleportation, energy balls, telekinesis, and invulnerability," Excisio said.

"You let him stay invincible?" Cole asked.

"No, not invincible. Invulnerable. There is a difference," Excisio said.

"And what is the difference?" Cole asked.

"Invincibility means the powers have little to no effect on you, invulnerable means they still hurt, and can still cause damage, but cannot kill or destroy," Excisio explained. "You possess invulnerability, too."

"Good to know. What do we do now?" Cole asked, eager to be gone.

"We wait. Then, when the Council is most vulnerable, we destroy it!"

* * *

Jerome and the sisters had taken the time to heal from Cole's attack. They had Chris investigating Cole and trying to figure out how he returned from the Wasteland and where his augmented powers came from. Chris had refused to leave Melinda since Cole's attack and, even though the sisters had been adamant that they could protect her, he brought her with him.

"I really think that we should give you another power to help you fight Cole next time he attacks," Paige said one day.

"Yeah, you've more than earned it. We never did give you any powers for helping with the Titans, either, and you definitely deserve at least one for that," Phoebe said.

"I don't think that more powers are going to help me beat Cole. We were evenly matched in battle, more powers don't mean more strength, just more versatility. I can't think of any powers that would give me an advantage over Cole," Jerome said.

"Well, we still owe you," Paige said.

"Very well. I suppose since Cole has fireballs along with his pyrokinesis, it would make sense for me to have energy balls with my electrokinesis," Jerome said.

"Any more powers you'd like? Maybe fight fire with fire?" Paige suggested.

"No. I have a theory, just a theory, but one that makes sense, that unless all of my powers are unlocked having multiple elements would actually lower the power of the others," Jerome said.

"How do you figure?" Phoebe asked.

"Mostly because the elements tend to detract from each other when possessed by one being. I've seen it happen to demons before. They'll have powerful pyrokinesis, then gain electrokinesis, only to have it weaken they're pyrokinetic abilities," Jerome said.

"Oh," Phoebe said.

"Well, you still deserve another power. What'll it be?" Paige asked.

Jerome thought for a moment. "There's no longer a healer in the house. Perhaps you should give me that power as well," Jerome said.

"We could just free all of your powers," Paige said.

"I don't think the Elders, or the Council for that matter, would like that," Jerome replied. "It's better to do them one or two at a time."

"Alright, then I'll go get Piper," Phoebe said. Piper was with Wyatt. Phoebe found her, told her the plan, and Piper agreed. Phoebe took Piper back downstairs and the two of them began chanting the spell with Paige.

"The Council has spoken, Jerome's powers are gone. Restore his powers, though only the one. Powers that be, restore healing to he!" the Charmed Ones chanted. Jerome felt the power return to him. The sisters repeated the spell with energy balls, and after they chanted it Jerome felt himself surge with power. Jerome conjured an energy ball in his hand. Most energy balls looked like balls with electrical charges coming from the center to a small barrier around the outside. Jerome's energy ball looked like a solid ball with electrical discharges coming out of it.

"Enhanced energy balls," Jerome explained at the sisters' expressions.

* * *

Chris and Melinda were scouring the Underworld, looking for answers about Cole. Chris hated bringing Melinda there, but he didn't want to leave her at the manor without him. He was her older brother, and it was his job to protect her. When he had returned to the manor that day when Cole had attacked he saw Melinda wrapping bandages on Paige. She was in a dress, and looked very uncomfortable. When Chris had arrived, however, she had refused to leave the sisters sides, even to change into more comfortable clothing. Eventually, she had returned to her jeans and t-shirt. The sisters were fine, thanks to Jerome, but Chris still didn't trust him. Nor did he want to leave Melinda exposed to the danger, at least, not without him. She was all he had.

"I still don't see why I have to come with you," Melinda said.

Chris rolled his eyes. He loved his little sister, but sometimes she could be really annoying and stubborn. She probably got that from Aunt Paige. "I've already told you; if something were to happen to you and I weren't there to protect you, I'd never be able to forgive myself," Chris said.

"But mom, Aunt Phoebe, and Aunt Paige are all at the manor. They'd protect me," Melinda said. "Besides, I'm NOT helpless."

"The sisters have been beaten before; they've lost innocents before. I don't want to run the risk of that being you. You're all I have left," Chris said.

"Jerome's there, and he's kind of invincible," Melinda said.

"Yeah, and I trust Jerome about as far as I can throw him," Chris said. "He can't interfere due to some 'unforeseeable consequences.'"

"Isn't that the exact same reason we can't tell them about the future?" Melinda asked.

"Well, yeah, but it's different for us. Jerome interfering isn't going to cause drastic chain reaction changes that could destroy the future," Chris said. "We, however, could."

"I still don't think he'd let anything happen to me," Melinda said.

"Mel, he's only interested in himself! All he wants to do is get his powers back. After that happens, he'll leave," Chris said.

"You didn't see how he lunged at that demon the other day. How he gave it everything he had to fend that demon off," Melinda said.

"He was probably just trying to protect his chance at regaining his powers," Chris said.

"I don't think so," Melinda said.

Chris sighed. "Mel, I don't trust him. Regardless of what he did, I still don't trust him."

Author's Note:

Paul has joined the Destroyer to become his lightning. Jerome now has energy balls as a ranged attack (that isn't a stream of raw power) and he can heal the sisters when (and since it' the Charmed Ones, it will be when, not if) they get hurt. So, anyone want to leave me a review telling me what you think of this story? I like reviews.

Now, I think I'll try hosting a contest. If anyone wants to try and draw a picture of Jerome or the Destroyer and send it to me, I'll use the best one (which means closest to what I was thinking of when I wrote their descriptions AND the one that is the most well drawn) as the cover picture for the story, unless none of them are well drawn. I don't want a poorly drawn picture as the cover picture for one of my stories. Jerome will be featured on The Greatest Power and the Destroyer will be on this story, Jerome's Return. Hopefully I'll get some artistic people to draw these and send them to me.


	15. Chapter 15

So far, no mentions of any artwork. Hopefully this doesn't mean I'm not getting any. I like fan drawings, I just can't draw to save my own life. Oh, well.

Chapter 15:

The time had come. The sisters had finally written a spell to, hopefully, summon an Ancient. They were ready. Jerome, Chris, and Melinda were all there as back up, in case the Ancient was aggressive. "By the power of the fire, ice, and lightning, though it may seem frightening, we call upon this greater power, we plead for thee in this hour. Come to us, we request of thee, come to us and hear our plea," the sisters chanted. Nothing happened.

"Well, that sucked," Phoebe said.

"Wait, let me try something first," Jerome said. "With all my might, with all my plea, add my strength to the Power of Three." The Charmed Ones glowed for a moment.

"Now try it," Jerome said. The sisters chanted the summoning spell again. Jerome joined them, for additional power. Nothing happened.

"Any more ideas?" Paige asked.

"You could try saying please," a voice came from the living room. Everyone spun around and ran into the living room.

Paige was the first one to get to the living room. "Who said that?" Paige asked.

Everyone else caught up shortly after Paige. "Okay, I know I heard something," Piper said.

"Looking for me?" the voice asked. A man with golden skin appeared in front of the sisters. His face was smooth and appeared to be untouched by age, other than his black eyes, which somehow showed an eternity of existence. Other than the eyes and golden skin, he appeared as any other man might appear. He wore a golden suit and tie with golden slacks and shoes to match.

"Who are you?" Phoebe asked.

"That seems like a pretty silly question, considering you called for me. Or, rather, one of my kind," the man said.

"You're an Ancient?" Jerome asked.

"At your service, or rather your service at my convenience," the man replied.

"Do you have a name?" Phoebe asked.

"My girl, I have many names. I suppose you can call me Electus. That one works," the man, Electus, said. "Now, may I assume you have a reason for summoning me here?"

"Yes," Jerome said. "What are you, exactly? The Ancients, I mean."

Electus laughed. "So eager. Tell me, child, how important is it that I answer this question?"

Jerome stiffened. He didn't like being called a child. "Very," Jerome replied.

"Then, how about this? Let's make a deal, for every question I answer, you must answer one of my own," Electus said.

"...Very well. I've already presented you with my question," Jerome said.

Electus smiled. "We are a powerful group of people who have existed before the dawn of time. Now, for my question-"

"Wait a minute, that's not an answer!" Jerome interrupted.

"Perhaps you should be more specific in your questions. Or maybe you should have analyzed the deal more carefully. Anyway, my question for you is this: Why are you asking about Ancients?" Electus asked.

"For my own reasons," Jerome replied.

Electus clicked his tongue. "Now, what kind of answer was that?"

"The same kind you gave me," Jerome replied.

"Perhaps we should change our agreement. For every question I answer fully, you must likewise answer in full. Do we have a deal?" Electus asked.

"Agreed. And, unless I'm mistaken, you have asked me two question that I have answered in full. I believe that means I get two free questions," Jerome said.

"I would agree," Electus said with a smile.

"First, answer my first question in full and I will answer yours in full," Jerome said.

"Very well. The Ancients are a powerful group of people created by the Grand Architect himself to dictate and control the very aspects of this world. Each Ancient has absolute dominion over his or her sphere of influence, and no Ancient may interfere with another's sphere. We are completely indestructible, and just for the record, we are perfectly capable of ignoring a summoning spell," Electus answered. "Now, your turn."

"I want to know about the only group of people that even have a chance of standing up against the Destroyer," Jerome answered.

Electus started laughing. "What's so funny?" Jerome asked.

"The Destroyer comment!" Electus laughed.

"What's so funny about that comment?" Jerome asked.

Electus stopped laughing. "The Ancients cannot directly interfere with other Ancients. I just told you that. And by the way, that's two questions."

"The Destroyer is an Ancient?" Jerome asked in disbelief.

"Yes, yes He is," Electus answered. "Now, for a question of my own. Why are you trying to stop His coming?"

"He will destroy everything if He gets out. It's in His nature, and He doesn't change," Jerome replied. "Now, my question. How can we stop Him?"

"You need to access the most powerful of all magics. I can't tell you anything more," Electus said. "Now, I believe you owe me one more answer. Why are you so concerned with stopping Him? Is that not the job of your Council?"

"That's two questions. I am concerned about stopping Him because I do not believe my Council will succeed in doing its job," Jerome replied. "Now I have one final question. What is the most powerful of all magics?"

"I can't answer that," Electus said. "I do, however, have a gift. So you don't have use a spell to call me, if you so desire." Electus held out a golden rock. Paige took the rock.

"This is a rock," Jerome said.

"Yeah. If you should ever want to summon me again you just need to whisper my name over the rock. I will hear, and I will come," Electus said.

"Okay, I know this is kind of random, but is that really what you look like?" Paige asked.

"I can look like whatever I want to look like. See?" Electus changed to look like a rabbit, then a dinosaur, then Jerome, then he took the form of the Destroyer.

"Can the Destroyer change His form?" Jerome asked.

"Are we still playing the questions game? I don't really want to keep this up. Yes, He can. Now, I have to go. Farewell," Electus said. Electus walked out of the living room then disappeared.

"Uh, so what now?" Phoebe asked.

"We summoned an Ancient, did you get what you wanted from him?" Paige asked.

Jerome shook his head. "Not really, but I doubt we can get anything else from him," Jerome asked.

"Should we try summoning another Ancient?" Paige asked.

"No. I doubt any of them will give us a better answer than Electus did," Jerome said.

"What do we do now?" Phoebe asked.

"We train, and wait," Jerome said. "Eventually the Destroyer is going to come after us, and when that happens, we need to be ready."

* * *

The Destroyer was ready. His plan was beginning to fall into place. He had His decoys, Cole and Paul, in position. They were to bait out two members of the Council while Excisio destroyed the rest. Which two, Excisio didn't care, though He strongly doubted the leader would leave. Excisio was taking a risk attacking the Council directly, but it was calculated. The only Defender that had fought Excisio in the past that was still alive that day was Daniel. Daniel alone was not a threat. The real threat had faded over two thousand years ago. After 74,658,945 years of existence, the biggest threat to the Destroyer had decided to fade.

The Destroyer sent a signal to Cole and Paul. The time had come to begin.

* * *

Marthis was busy trying to see into the Destroyer's realm and hadn't noticed when Daniel entered his chambers. Marthis' chambers were completely barren save for a large desk and a bed. The room was a whitewashed gold and was large enough to easily navigate in, but not so large that it was full of excess space. Marthis was sitting at his desk while he tried to see into the Destroyer's realm.

Daniel called Marthis' name, shaking him out of his trance. "What?" Marthis snapped.

"Two incredibly powerful attacks are striking the wall of the Garden. What are your orders?" Daniel asked. The Garden had a magical wall around it that prevented anyone from entering without being able to Flash or Flicker.

"What is the nature of these attacks?" Marthis asked.

"Enhanced pyrokinesis and enhanced electrokinesis," Daniel replied.

"What? How?" Marthis demanded.

"I don't know. That's why I came to you," Daniel replied.

"You and Benjamin go investigate. Stop the attackers if you can, identify them if you can't," Marthis ordered.

"Right away," Daniel replied. Daniel ran to find Benjamin and the two of them split up. Benjamin went to investigate the electrokinetic attack while Daniel went to investigate the pyrokinetic attack.

Daniel found the source of the attack easily enough. It was a demon, just outside the Garden. How did a demon have that much power? And how had he known how to find the Garden? Daniel approached the demon and telekinetically knocked the demon to the ground. Daniel used his telekinesis to keep the demon on the ground so he could interrogate him. "Who are you?" Daniel asked.

"I go by the name Cole," the demon, Cole, replied. "And I'm just a simple demon with a powerful friend."

"Why are you attacking the Garden?" Daniel asked.

"Why, to distract you, of course," Cole replied.

"Distract me? Distract me from what?" Daniel asked. Daniel then heard a large cracking sound. He turned around and saw the wall, which was normally bright, glowing, and gold, darken and crack. The wall then shattered right before Daniel's eyes.

"What? How is this possible?" Daniel asked, mostly to himself.

"My powerful friend happens to be the Destroyer, and He's pretty intent on destroying your Council," Cole said.

"No! I have to help at least try to stop Him!" Daniel said.

Daniel was about to Flash to the Council Chambers, but stopped when a fireball hit him in the back. The attack was powerful enough to knock Daniel to the ground, and it actually hurt. "Sorry, but I'm afraid I can't let you interfere. The Destroyer says that you are the only one left from the last time He escaped, and so are the only one who may know of a way to stop Him. I am under direct orders to keep you busy long enough for the Destroyer to wipe out the rest of your Council," Cole said.

Daniel got up and said "Then I'll kill you!" Daniel blasted Cole with all the raw energy he could muster. Cole was sent flying back by the energy blast. Cole, however, quickly stood up and threw several blue fireballs at Daniel. Daniel erected a shield to protect himself. When the fireballs ceased, Daniel let down the shield and looked for Cole. Daniel saw Cole to his left and blasted raw energy in that direct. Cole Flamed out of the way. Daniel looked around for Cole, only to feel the burning blast of fire hit him in the back. Daniel fell to the ground. Cole continued blasting Daniel with a stream of fire until Daniel passed out.

Cole ceased his attack and muttered "Well, that was easier than I thought it'd be."

* * *

Benjamin had found the source of the lightning attack. It was Paul. "What are you doing?" Benjamin asked.

Paul stopped his attack and turned to Benjamin. "Huh. I was hoping you'd be the one to come," Paul said. "I'm distracting you long enough for-" Paul was cut off by a large cracking sound. "Well, for that," Paul finished, gesturing towards the now cracked wall. Benjamin turned to watch the wall shatter.

"How can this be?" Benjamin asked.

"Well, I don't really know about all the technical stuff, but what I do know is that the Destroyer destroyed the wall," Paul said.

"The Destroyer? He's back?" Benjamin asked. "And you're helping Him?"

"Yes, yes, and yes. The Destroyer promised me revenge on Jerome, and I intend to get it, one way or another," Paul said.

"I have to warn Marthis," Benjamin said. Benjamin felt a blast of lightning strike his back. Benjamin turned around to see Paul, ready to fight.

"I can't let you do that," Paul said. Benjamin knew he was going to have to fight Paul, so he didn't waste any time. Benjamin blasted Paul with all the raw energy he could muster. The force of the energy wave was powerful enough to send Paul flying, but Paul was able to quickly get back up.

"What is with you Council members and your energy waves? Honestly, use an element or two! They are so much more versatile," Paul said. Paul blasted more lightning at Benjamin. Benjamin Blinked out of the way of the lightning and blasted Paul with an ice cloud. Paul was frozen solid.

"You were right, elements are useful," Benjamin said. "Now, to warn Marthis." Benjamin Flickered to the Council Chambers to find and warn Marthis.

* * *

The Destroyer shattered the wall surrounding the Garden. The wall was easy to shatter, it just took a little time. The damage to the wall from Paul's and Cole's attacks had been negligible. The Destroyer entered the Garden, blasting Linears with His black lightning whenever He got the chance. The black lightning that Excisio used was a very unique for of electrokinesis. The elemental power was removed and the pure destructive power was enhanced tenfold the enhanced form of regular electrokinesis. The black lightning wasn't powerful enough to destroy a Defender, at least, not as a short blast, but it was powerful enough to hurt like crazy. Even past the invincibility.

The Destroyer knew He probably shouldn't be drawing so much attention to Himself, but He wasn't going to pass up an opportunity like that. Besides, there was no way the Council could stop Him, not without all its members.

Excisio was right outside the Council Chambers. He waved His hand in front of the building, destroying a portion of the wall he was facing. He entered the large gap and walked straight to the back of the building, where He knew the living quarters were. All of the Council members came out of their quarters to face Him. Five of the seven Council members were there, exactly as it should be. The other two were likely busy with Cole and Paul.

One of them, a man who seemed to be the leader, stepped forward and said "Who are you?"

Excisio grinned. "I am Excisio, the Destroyer," He said. Everyone gasped and flinched in fear.

"You're the Destroyer? You broke free?" the leader asked.

"I'm standing before you now, of course I broke free," Excisio said. "And there's nothing you can do to stop me!"

The leader spoke up. "We stopped you before, we'll do it again," he said.

"Yes, but the only one of you who was alive during my last release is currently occupied. You don't know how to defeat me, and you lack the numbers to do so," Excisio replied. "Besides, the one who was responsible for my defeat last time is gone, and none of the Observers have the power to stop me."

Excisio blasted the leader with some of His black lightning. Normally Excisio only blasted the lightning in short bursts. However, that time he held the lightning. The leader screamed in pain. None of the other Council members moved or did anything. They were too terrified. After a few seconds of continual black lightning, the leader exploded in a burst of black lightning charges. The charges hit the rest of the Council members, knocking all of them out. The Destroyer waved His hand in front of all of them. They all glowed in a dark light, and when the light faded, they disintegrated. "Far too easy," Excisio said. The Destroyer then blasted a hole in the back of building. Cole Flamed beside the Destroyer.

"The Council member is unconscious outside of the Garden's borders," Cole said.

"Well done," Excisio said. Excisio felt a blast of raw power on His back. He turned around and saw one of the last two Council members. Excisio believed his name was Benjamin.

Benjamin got a shocked expression on his face. "That was my strongest attack, and it didn't even faze you," Benjamin said.

"You have no idea what you're dealing with," Excisio said. The Destroyer blasted Benjamin with some of His black lightning. Benjamin was blasted back and was knocked out immediately.

"You know this means he defeated Paul," Cole said.

"Of course I realize that. It may be... interesting to keep him alive. The other one as well. The Observers, however, must all perish," Excisio said.

"Well then," Cole said. "What are we waiting for?"

Author's Note:

This chapter was pretty fun to write. So, please leave me a review telling me what you think and how much you liked/hated this chapter.

On another note, I have a couple of ideas for the final battle, but I'm not sure which one to go with. If someone doesn't mind spoilers and would like to help me pick, let me know either in a review or in a PM.


	16. Chapter 16

I decided to create a Twitter thing for my FanFiction readers. The user name is MasterMind16X (HINT: It's identical to my pen name). I may tweet various things relating to my stories (including this one), which may include but are not limited to: concepts I have thrashing around in my head, sneak peeks for future chapters, unique information not mentioned in the story, and some possible contests to allow a reader to write their own chapter for this story (with me proofreading it for any grammar or spelling). The name on the Twitter account is Jerome Matthews (to support everyone's favorite pairing). This is NOT my real name, it's a pseudonym (just like a real writer). Now, on to the thing you actually want to read.

Chapter 16:

Jerome howled in pain. The sisters had never heard Jerome so much as grunt in pain before, even after being vaporized, so this was terrifying to them. "Jerome, what's wrong?" Paige asked.

"Agh! They're dying! All of them, they're dying!" Jerome screamed.

"Who's dying?" Paige asked.

"The Council, the Observers, my people are dying!" Jerome shouted.

"How is that possible?" Paige asked.

"The Destroyer, He must be free! And He's killing them, no, He's destroying them!" Jerome howled. Jerome collapsed on the ground, panting. He periodically was racked with the horrid pain and screamed.

"How can you tell? I didn't think you were connected as a people," Paige asked.

"Our power isn't, but our minds are. That's how the Council is able to gather us if need be. The link is weak, but I can feel their pain through it," Jerome said. Jerome howled as another wave of pain flowed through him.

"What can we do?" Paige asked.

"There's nothing to do other than wait. He's free, and He's going to destroy everything," Jerome said.

"There's got to be a way to stop Him," Paige said.

"Without the Council? I doubt it. Maybe if Daniel survived..." Jerome said. The pain had greatly subsided and had stopped coming as frequently.

"Who's Daniel?" Paige asked.

"He's the oldest living Council member. He's the only one who was around the last time the Destroyer was free. He might be our only hope of defeating Him," Jerome said.

"How do we find him?" Paige asked.

"You can't. I might be able to, though," Jerome said.

"In this condition? No way!" Paige argued.

"Give me a minute to rest, and I'll be fine. I should be able to handle Flickering over there and looking around. Besides, I'll be careful," Jerome said.

"I still don't think that's such a good idea," Paige said. "What if the Destroyer finds you?"

"I'll be careful," Jerome said. Paige could be really stubborn sometimes, but Jerome knew when to relent and when to hold his ground. Jerome was pretty sure Paige was about to yield, anyway.

"Alright, fine. But if you're not back in twenty minutes, we're coming after you," Paige said.

"Naturally," Jerome said. Jerome didn't bother mentioning that the only way into the Garden was by Flashing or Flickering. Although, if the Destroyer got in, the wall that kept other teleportation methods from entering was probably down.

Jerome rested for a few minutes to recover from all the pain. When he felt rested enough, he Flickered to the Garden. Jerome chose the area just outside the Council Chambers. The Chambers were ruined. There was a giant hole in front of the large, prominent building. The rest of the building seemed to be falling apart. Jerome decided that was the best place to check. Jerome quietly sneaked into the building, ready to Flash out in a moment's notice.

Everywhere Jerome looked there were bodies. Jerome knew they weren't dead; he could still see them breathing. Jerome knew so little about the nature of the Destroyer's attacks that he wasn't sure if there would be any bodies left. The bodies could have been destroyed with the lives. Jerome crept towards the back of the building, where the Council members resided. Jerome had felt that a large amount of the Council had been killed, but as far as how many exactly he did not know. Jerome figured it was probably between four and six. Jerome knew at least one survived, and he knew that more than half had been killed. Jerome saw a body on the ground. It was Benjamin.

Jerome paused. He and his brother hadn't seen eye to eye in the past. In fact, Jerome detested his brother. However, he was a member of the Council, and was still alive. Jerome would probably need him. Jerome knelt down to check and see if Benjamin was alright. He was unconscious, but otherwise he was okay. Jerome quietly woke him up. When they were younger Jerome had always appreciated how quietly Benjamin woke up. Benjamin's eyes fluttered and he woke up. "Jerome?" he asked. "What's going on?"

"Sh!" Jerome quietly hushed his brother. He continued in a whisper. "I felt the death of so many of our people. I came to see what happened."

Benjamin spoke in a whisper. "I saw what happened. The Destroyer, he's free. He killed all of them. Only myself and maybe Daniel have survived," he said.

"What about the Observers?" Jerome asked.

"All gone," Benjamin replied.

"Linears?" Jerome asked.

"Most of them were attacked, but few were actually destroyed. Most of them are alive, but most are also injured," Benjamin replied.

"So, there's at least some hope left," Jerome said. "If Daniel were alive, where would he be?"

"I would guess just outside of the Garden, on the east side. There was a high concentration of enhanced pyrokinesis attacking the wall there. Daniel went to investigate," Benjamin said.

"Enhanced pyrokinesis? Cole," Jerome muttered. It must have been Cole. That would explain how the demon became so powerful; the Destroyer must have been the one to have done that.

"I went to investigate the west, where Paul was attacking the wall with enhanced electrokinesis," Benjamin said.

"Paul's joined the Destroyer?" Jerome asked. Jerome had known that Paul was angry and hated him, but to go as far as joining the Destroyer? That was farther than Jerome had ever thought Paul would go.

"Yes, he has," Benjamin said.

Jerome growled. "Paul's not a problem. I can handle him if necessary. We need to find Daniel."

"Agreed," Benjamin said. The two of them crept out of the Council Chambers and Flickered to the east side of the Garden.

They appeared roughly fifty feet away from where Daniel had been knocked out. Jerome saw Daniel on the ground, unconscious but alive. Jerome walked over to Daniel and tried to wake him up. Daniel seemed to be in worse condition than Benjamin had been in. Jerome turned to Benjamin. "Who knocked you out?" he asked.

"The Destroyer. After I defeated Paul I went to warn Marthis about Him. I was too late," Benjamin said.

Jerome frowned. Daniel must have been fighting Cole, but if Benjamin was easier to wake up than Daniel, then that must have meant that the Destroyer wanted Benjamin alive for some reason and had held back.

Jerome shook his head. He could dwell on that later. Daniel needed to wake up. Jerome thought for a minute. He remembered how Leo had healed him before. Jerome tried this with Daniel. After a few seconds Daniel woke up. "What happened?" Daniel asked.

"You were knocked out by Cole, a powerful demon who has sided with the Destroyer," Jerome said.

"Yes, I remember that. What happened after?" Daniel asked.

"The Destroyer killed everyone," Benjamin said.

"You and Benjamin are the last of the Council to survive. The Destroyer has killed all of the Observers and some of the Linears. Most Linears still live, however," Jerome said. Daniel stood up and dusted himself off.

"Well, we seem to have a problem. We don't have the numbers to reseal the Destroyer," Daniel said.

"Actually, I think with the Charmed Ones' help we may be able to beat Him," Jerome said.

Daniel frowned. "How so?"

"The Power of Three is incredibly strong. It has enough power to weaken the seal the Council put on my powers and free them. If they say the right spell at the right time, it may make up for the lack of Council power," Jerome said.

"Do you have anything else? Because just a spell isn't going to cut it," Daniel said.

"I did speak with Electus," Jerome said.

"Who?" Benjamin asked.

"The Ancient who governs free will," Jerome explained.

"You spoke with an Ancient?" Daniel asked.

"Yes. So have you; the Destroyer is an Ancient," Jerome said.

Daniel and Benjamin looked at each other. "That would explain how He has such absolute power over destruction. That must be His sphere of influence," Benjamin said.

"Yes, it would. Anyway, Jerome, what did Electus say?" Daniel asked.

"He said that in order to stop the Destroyer we need to access the most powerful of all magics," Jerome said. "Any idea what that is?"

"No. I don't," Daniel said. "He didn't say?"

"He said he's not allowed to tell me what the most powerful of all magics is. He also said Ancients cannot directly interfere with another Ancient," Jerome said. A loud crashing sound came from within the Garden.

"We should leave. The Destroyer could come after us at any second," Benjamin said.

"Follow me," Jerome said. Jerome Flickered back to the manor.

Paige was waiting in the living room, where Jerome Flickered back. Paige jumped at his sudden appearance. "Jerome! I was just about to go after you," Paige said. Benjamin and Daniel Flickered in behind Jerome. "Who are they?" Paige asked.

"This is Daniel," Jerome said, gesturing towards Daniel. "And this is Benjamin. They're the last of the Council."

"So," Paige said, directing her words towards Benjamin and Daniel. "Any ideas on how we can vanquish the Destroyer?"

"You cannot vanquish an Ancient. They can only be sealed and locked up," Daniel said.

"Well, how do we seal Him, then?" Paige asked.

"I don't know," Benjamin said.

"What about you? Any ideas?" Paige asked, directing her words towards Daniel.

"No, I don't know," Daniel said.

"Wait, weren't you the one who was there when it happened?" Paige asked.

"I was alive when the Destroyer was last sealed, yes, but I wasn't actually at the sealing. All I know is it took the entire Council, several Observers, and ten Linears to do it," Daniel said.

"I remember hearing a story about how a single Linear sealed the Destroyer away. How close to the truth is that?" Jerome asked.

"From what I was told by the few survivors, it was true. The Destroyer fought off every single one of the Council members and all of the Observers. Nine of the ten Linears were dead, and the last Linear somehow found the power within himself to lock away the Destroyer. I don't know what triggered this power, or what else happened in the Destroyer's realm. The Council did something first, under the direction of the Observers, that, at least I think, weakened the Destroyer. Then the Linear sealed the Destroyer away," Daniel said.

"What happened to the Linear?" Paige asked.

"He faded about two thousand years ago," Daniel replied.

"Who was he?" Jerome asked.

"He was your father," Daniel replied.

Author's Note:

The Destroyer has a way with destruction, doesn't He? So, if anyone would like to leave me a nice review I would very much appreciate it. And if anyone wants to help me test run the Twitter thing and follow me MasterMind16X that's be very nice. And, as always, I welcome ideas for this story.


	17. Chapter 17

And now we have another exciting installation of this story. Enjoy.

Chapter 17:

"Wait, our father was the one who sealed the Destroyer?" Benjamin asked.

"Yes. I don't know how he did it, he never shared his methods with me. All I know is that, other than four of the seven Council members and two Observers, your father was the sole survivor," Daniel said. "None of the remaining Council members nor any of the Observers would say what happened. Either they didn't know or they refused to say," Daniel replied.

"Was there any change in his behavior after?" Jerome asked.

Daniel chuckled. "That's like saying is there any change to a tree after it's been exposed to lightning. Your father watched his companions, his friends, die at the hands of the Destroyer. The experience left him so different, I almost didn't recognize him. Your father was open, kind, sociable, and generous before the experience. Afterwords, however, he became reclusive, antisocial, self contained, and rarely spoke to anyone. Other than his wife. She was the sole reason he kept on existing. Do you remember anything about your mother?" Daniel said.

"I remember very little. Only that she chose to fade when I was very young," Benjamin said.

Daniel looked at Jerome. "I remember a bit more. She didn't choose to fade; she was required to. The Council at the time told her that our father was becoming erratic and unpredictable. They told her that they knew she was the only reason he was still clinging to existence, and that in order for him to leave, she would have to fade. After a lot of coaxing she agreed to fade, for our father's sake.

"Our father refused to leave us, even though our mother did. He continued his existence, much to the Council's dismay, until he believed we were old enough to continue on without him. However, the loss of our mother left him as even less than what he was before. He kept saying 'He'll get out. He'll get out, and when He does, you need to be ready. She's gone, and He's coming,'" Jerome said.

Daniel nodded. "Precisely. When your mother faded your father became obsessed over two things: her departure and the Destroyer's eventual release. He said he left you clues to how he beat the Destroyer, but after he faded we searched and never found anything," Daniel said.

"Maybe he left something that only Jerome or Benjamin could find," Paige suggested.

Daniel nodded. "I thought the same way, too. However, we have no idea where to start looking," Daniel said. "And as of right now, the Destroyer has total control over the Garden. We can't search there without Him finding us."

Jerome paused and thought for a minute. His gaze fell to Chris and Melinda. "The Destroyer doesn't know either of you," Jerome said to them. "Neither do Cole or Paul. If one of you went to the Garden and searched for something, maybe you could get away with it."

Chris adopted a strange expression on his face. One of shock, anger, and even fear. "You expect one of us to go to this place that houses one of the most powerful beings in existence to search for something we might not be able to find?" he asked.

"Yes," Jerome simply stated.

"No way! I am not risking my life on the off chance that we might find some hint about defeating an all powerful entity," Chris said.

"He's not all powerful. His powers are solely destruction; He can do nothing other than destroy," Daniel said.

"I still don't see why I should risk my life to search for something that might not exist," Chris said.

"Look at it this way: if you don't, then everything you know, everything you love, will be no more. If He isn't stopped, He will destroy everything and everyone. Including you and Melinda," Jerome said.

"Come on, Chris! You're always sending us after demons and taking no care about your or our safety when dealing with them. Why is the Destroyer any different?" Phoebe asked.

"We've vanquished your demons, now you help us seal our Ancient," Piper said.

"Honestly, Chris. We're a team. You're our Whitelighter; it's your job to look out for us. How do you expect to look out for us if you aren't willing to take a chance?" Paige asked.

"You can either risk death, or ensure it. Your choice," Jerome said.

Chris looked at everyone. He turned to Melinda, who nodded her head slightly. Chris sighed. "Alright, fine, I submit. I'll go and search. Where do I need to go?" Chris asked.

Everyone sighed in relief. "You should search our home first. It's more likely that our father would hide something there than anywhere else," Jerome said.

"And he wouldn't hide anything large or obvious. It'll likely be small and easy to overlook. It'll probably also be enchanted, so it shouldn't be broken," Benjamin said.

Chris nodded and, after being directed where to go, Orbed to the Garden to begin his search. Benjamin and Daniel said that they had research to do and Flickered away. Phoebe had to get to the newspaper and Piper needed to go to P3. That left Paige, Jerome, and Melinda.

"I think we need to have another talk with our Ancient friend," Jerome said.

"Electus?" Paige asked. Jerome nodded. "I'll go get the stone." Paige left to go and get the stone that Electus had left for them before. She was gone for about two minutes, leaving Jerome and Melinda in an awkward (at least for Melinda, Jerome didn't really notice) silence. When Paige came back she was clutching the stone.

"So, how do we use this thing?" Paige asked. Jerome took the stone and focused on Electus.

Jerome was focusing when someone from behind him said "You called?"

Paige and Melinda both jumped in shock at the sudden noise. Jerome merely turned around and said "Yes. The Destroyer is free."

"Yes, I know. I felt my brother use His power to destroy most of the Garden. So sorry for your loss," Electus said, though he didn't sound all too sorry.

"If He's already free, and if He's successfully destroyed my people, why is this world still in existence?" Jerome asked. "Why hasn't He erased it yet?"

Electus grinned and said "Because of me, of course!"

Jerome looked at him, confused. "The answer is really quite simple. Ancients cannot interfere with other Ancients' sphere's of influence. As you both know, I am an Ancient. My sphere of influence is free will. The Destroyer can't just simply destroy everyone and everything and remove their free will. That would be interfering with my sphere. No, the people have to surrender themselves to Him. Once they've made that choice, then He has all the power to destroy them," Electus said.

"So, as long as someone refuses to submit, He cannot destroy anything?" Paige asked.

"Exactly right, dearie," Electus said.

"Yeah, don't call me that," Paige said.

"Wait, then why doesn't someone just refuse and then He can't do anything?" Melinda asked. She paused then asked "Did that make sense?"

Paige shook her head while Jerome nodded his. Electus said "I understood it perfectly well. He has allies now, right?"

Jerome nodded. "Well, His allies are not bound by the same rules as He is. They can kill and destroy all they want. If they hurt or kill enough people, the rest will submit. Then, when everyone has submitted themselves to Him, He has the power to destroy them, forever. And once they've all been destroyed, this world and everything left in it will be His to destroy," Electus said.

"If He can't remove free will, then why was He able to destroy so many of my people?" Jerome asked.

"Because your people do not possess true free will," Electus said. "At least, most don't. Every now and again one of your kind gains true free will, but that hasn't happened in millennia."

"Who was the last one to possess true free will?" Jerome asked.

Electus grinned. "Can't tell you that. Trade secret."

"Wait, what is true free will if Jerome and his people don't have it?" Paige asked.

Electus became somber and solemn. "True free will is the gift to choose what you want to be, who you want to be, who you are, and who you get to be with," Electus said.

"You want that, don't you?" Melinda asked.

"You have no idea," Electus whispered.

"Why? Don't you like having power?" Paige asked.

Electus stared at her, making Paige feel very uncomfortable. "Let me ask you this: how much power does one have if one can't control his own existence?" Electus asked.

"Uh," Paige said.

"None. He has no power of he can't control his own fate. Oh, yes, I have absolute power over free will, but I myself get no free will at all. I am a slave to my power, forced to do as it dictates. And even then I only have the freedom to use my powers if another person chooses to allow me that freedom," Electus said.

"What do you mean by that?" Paige asked.

"Have you ever heard of making a deal with the devil?" Electus asked. Paige nodded her head. "I am the origin of that saying. My power comes from making deals with beings that possess free will. They choose to do whatever I decide and then I can do whatever they want me to do. When the deal is struck, I have absolute power. Other than then, I have nothing I can use," Electus said. "And no one I can be with. Who wants to spend eternity with someone who forces others to lose everything?"

"Who was she?" Melinda asked quietly. Jerome and Paige stared at her as if she had lost her mind. Electus, however, looked at her with respect and admiration.

"You are very perceptive, young lady. Do you wish to hear the tale of how an Ancient fell in love, only to have her torn from him?" Electus asked. Everyone nodded their heads. "Then listen closely."

Author's Note:

I have a small predicament I was hoping you readers could help me out with. I'm not sure if the woman Electus loved should be a mortal (meaning non-Ancient) or another Ancient. Which would you rather read about? I could write either just as easily, so whichever one sounds more appealing to you is the one I will write. Please leave me a review letting me know what you want to read and how you liked (or didn't) the chapter.


	18. Chapter 18

Well, I got one vote for Ancient, one for mortal. So, rather than just one, I figured I'll somehow try and include both. Let me know if it works or not.

Chapter 18:

Electus drew a deep breath before beginning his tale. "It didn't happen only once. It happened many times. Once, with one woman, Veronica, and every other time it was with another. I will begin my tale with Veronica, the first woman.

"She was a witch. She called me to make a deal; she was willing to give anything if I would save her son. I agreed. I saved her son, and she was so grateful. This was a very long time ago, so I had had little dealings with witches. My request was for her to allow me to stick around and see what witches could do. She enthusiastically agreed," Electus said.

"Why did you want to learn about witches?" Paige asked.

Electus glared at her for interrupting. "I knew little of them, other than that they were mortals who possessed magic. I wished to know more, so I could better deal with them in the future. Back then, my only concern was making deals. That was my drive, my purpose. To present mortals with choices so they can exercise their free will.

"Now, as I was saying, she agreed to allow me to watch her. I stayed for many months, still doing my duty and making deals with mortals, but when there were no deals to be made, I spent my time with her. Over time I had gotten to know her, personally, and several other witches through her. Many years passed, and I still hadn't left. Eventually, with some help, I realized I was falling in love with her. Her husband had died before she made the deal with me, so she it was her and her son. She came to rely on me to be around. Eventually, she fell in love with me, as well. For a time, we were happily, blissfully in love. But my love for her was distracting. It kept me from fulfilling my duty as an Ancient. Remember, this was a very long time ago. Back then, the Ancients roamed freely amongst mortals. The other Ancients knew of my love, and that it was preventing me from doing my duty. They, like me, had only one drive; to maintain the balance of their spheres. Without free will, the balance was shaken, and the other spheres were suffering.

"The other Ancients appealed to the Grand Architect. He came up with a solution. The Creator, the opposite of the Destroyer, was to create a people that were responsible for resetting the world should the balance be shaken. The Defenders. The Creator did so, and the Defenders watched for a time. However, my constant neglect of my sphere led to a greater and greater imbalance. Eventually, it got so bad that there was no hope of the world restoring itself. The Defenders Ascended, and wiped the slate clean. The world, and everyone on it, was completely wiped and restored. My Veronica was gone, and I was alone," Electus said. Everyone paused and allowed what Electus said to sink in.

"You said there was another?" Melinda asked.

Electus nodded. "Yes. There was another. Another Ancient. Medeis. The Ancient whose dominion was magic, and who was my counterpart. You see, each Ancient has a counterpart to balance him out. Creation has Destruction, Time has Space, and Free Will had Magic," Electus said.

"How is magic the counter to free will?" Paige asked.

"Simple. Magic removes free will. Back when magic was first given to mortals it came with a price. The price was a loss of freedom, a loss of the ability to choose. It's changed since then, but think about it. How often has magic removed your ability to choose? Since you possess your powers, that makes you a target for the opposite side, a target for evil," Electus said. Paige paused and appeared thoughtful.

"Anyway, she was my counterpart. Yet she was the only other Ancient who was sympathetic to my loss. I was heartbroken about the loss of Veronica, but I was doing my duty. As far as the other Ancients cared, everything was fine. But not Medeis. She was sympathetic. She was kind, and helped me focus. She reminded me of my purpose. She set me back on the path of being an Ancient, of being the lord of free will. For many years she would stay with me, making sure I didn't repeat the same mistake I made before. She didn't want to see me get hurt again, not like last time. We grew closer and closer. The other Ancients grew worried, after all, we were the most powerful. They feared that our love would combine free will and magic, creating a group of people far too powerful for the world to handle. They were right, I suppose. We unintentionally allowed for a few magic users to be control time and space. Of course, Time and Space themselves were still the absolute rulers and had absolute power over their spheres. Nevertheless, it was a reason for the others to grow concerned.

"There were many battles fought. The others created obstacles and tried to keep us apart. No matter what they tried, we always prevailed. We would always find each other. Eventually, there was a war. We fought, and nearly killed each other. The world was thrown so badly out of balance that no other creature save for an Ancient could survive living in it. The war ended when the Destroyer shattered Medeis into four pieces. The Creator then created three obelisks and locked three of her pieces in them. She was trapped, and with her gone the magic was broken. The fourth piece was left powerless and, as punishment for her insurrection, was trapped in a realm where time didn't flow and space was twisted and distorted. She was forced to remain there, forever.

"The loss of magic hit hard, especially the Defenders, who couldn't reset the world without magic. Time made a suggestion; use the three obelisks to fuel the world's magic. One was reserved solely for the Defenders, another was for the magic of the world. With the last, we didn't know what to do with it. I was an emotional wreck, but they dared not mess with me. Space had the idea of creating a group of watchers, designed to keep an eye on the destinies of the mortals, and to make sure they kept their free will. This was the birth of the Angels of Destiny. The other Ancients fled the world to their own realms, where they would watch over their spheres without risking the balance of the world.

"After this event, our freedom as Ancients was nearly completely removed. From then on, we could only choose when and how to use our powers, within our constraints. We also lost the ability to interfere with each other and each others spheres. Our freedom was almost completely removed, and now I can't be with someone even if I wanted to. All I can do is make deals and use my powers over free will," Electus finished bitterly.

Everyone was silent for a while. "Wow. I never realized how much of a gift free will really is," Paige said quietly.

"I'm sorry you had to suffer that. And I hope I don't sound insensitive when I ask this, but if the Destroyer was free then, why was He sealed away?" Jerome asked.

"Jerome!" Paige and Melinda snapped.

"What?" Jerome replied.

Electus just sighed. "Somehow I knew that question was coming. He was sealed mostly out of fear. Eventually He became weary of His existence in a barren realm. He was the Destroyer, and He was going to Destroy. It's what He was made to do. The other Ancients could exercise their powers in their realms, but the Destroyer couldn't. All He could do, all He can do, is destroy. With nothing to destroy, what was He to do?"

"Why couldn't He just come to an agreement with the Creator? The Creator creates things for the Destroyer to destroy?" Jerome asked.

"Unlike the other Ancients, the Creator and Destroyer are complete opposites. Time and Space act as counterparts to each other, but they are not complete opposites. They actually get along quite well. It was the same with me and Medeis. We weren't complete opposites. The Destroyer and the Creator were, and they couldn't bare the presence of each other. They would rather be imprisoned for all eternity than suffer to be near each other. They were willing to get over it long enough to protect the balance of the Grand Design, but that was it. They could never agree on anything else, nor could they ever get along about anything else. An agreement like that could never happen," Electus said.

"So, He came here. To this world," Jerome said.

Electus nodded. "That it correct. He came to this world, and He began to Destroy everything. Without the Creator, there was no repairing what the Destroyer destroyed."

"So, my people locked Him away," Jerome said.

To Jerome's surprise, Electus shook his head. "No. The destruction without creation led to an imbalance in the Grand Design. The other Ancients and I confronted the Destroyer. We told Him He couldn't keep destroying everything, that it was throwing the Grand Design out of balance. He was furious. 'The Grand Design that I was formed to protect is in danger because I'm doing what I was made to do? Then I turn my back on the Grand Design! I vow that I will destroy everything, and then, once everything is gone, I will destroy the Grand Design, all of you, and the Grand architect Himself!' That was His vow, His promise. We Ancients could not do anything to stop Him, but we could arm others to do it for us. We armed your people, the Defenders, with the Sealing Obelisk. They Ascended and used all of their combined power to lock the Destroyer away, using the Sealing Obelisk. Time and Space created a realm where there was nothing, and where time flowed differently. He was left there, trapped with the only thing He didn't have the power to destroy."

"How is that possible? I mean, I thought He was destruction, how is there something that even He can't destroy?" Paige asked.

"It required all of us Ancients to pour our power into the Sealing Obelisk. And even then, we needed to appeal to the Grand Architect to make it completely indestructible," Electus said.

"Did you help when the Destroyer got out?" Jerome asked.

"Which time? He's broken free so many times I've lost count. The first couple, yes, we did. The rest of them, no. The Defenders had gotten good enough at sealing Him that we didn't need to interfere," Electus said.

"Wait, then what makes this time so different?" Paige asked.

"The Destroyer had never before gotten help from another. It was always Him and Him alone. This time, He has help," Electus said.

"Cole and Paul," Jerome said. Electus nodded. "Will you help us this time?" Jerome asked.

Electus shook his head. "That's not for me to decide. If the other Ancients deem it necessary, then they will help. I cannot unless they dictate it," Electus said. Electus paused for a second. "Sadly, duty calls. I must leave now, farewell." Electus disappeared, though he left with no visible signs of teleporting.

No one said anything for a while. "So, what should we do now?" Paige asked.

Jerome shook his head. "I don't know."

Author's Note:

So, how effective was I at telling both love stories without ruining the chapter? Did you like the stories? Do you think they would be better if I hadn't done one of the love stories? Did you like all the other stuff in this chapter? Please, leave a review telling me what you think.


	19. Chapter 19

This chapter is more Charmed stuff. Good old demon fighting Charmed. No Ancients, no Destroyer (directly), and no Defender lore. The only Defender here will be Jerome.

Chapter 19:

It had been two days since Paige, Melinda, and Jerome had heard Electus' story. By unspoken consent they agreed to keep it amongst themselves. None of them knew why they were keeping it quiet, but they were.

Chris still hadn't returned, and Melinda was almost sick with worry. There was actually one occasion where she literally worried herself sick. She blamed the garlic bread they had for dinner, but Jerome doubted that was the case. When Phoebe told the rest of them that she was almost sick from Melinda's worry Jerome's suspicions were confirmed. Jerome had heard nothing from Benjamin or Daniel since they left, but, unlike Melinda, he wasn't worried. Daniel and Benjamin could take care of themselves.

Jerome was at the manor with Piper, who was still mourning Leo. Melinda was there, pacing across the attic loudly. At least, it was loud to Jerome. Piper didn't seem to care. After the constant tapping had nearly driven Jerome to insanity, Jerome finally left. He Flickered away so suddenly that Piper didn't realize he had left until she turned to where he was and saw he was no longer sitting in the chair he had been in before. "Jerome?" Piper asked.

Jerome Flickered back. "Yes?" he asked irritatedly.

"Where did you go?" Piper asked.

"I left. I can't take the constant tapping of Melinda's pacing. It's driving me insane," Jerome replied.

"Tapping? What tapping?" Piper asked.

Jerome was hearing it even as she spoke. "You seriously can't hear that?" Jerome asked.

Piper shook her head. "No, I can't," she said. "Where were you going?"

"I don't know. I guess somewhere to practice my swordplay. I've grown a bit slack lately," Jerome said.

"Alright," Piper said. She still seemed so defeated, so out of it. Like she didn't care about anything. She was trying, but her heart wasn't in it.

Jerome made a decision. Melinda was practically killing herself over stressing about Chris, and Piper was shutting herself off from the world. There was absolutely no possible way that they could help in the battle against the Destroyer that would inevitably come. "Alright, that's it. You and Melinda are coming with me," Jerome said.

"Where are we going?" Piper asked. She wasn't even trying to fight him! Piper desperately needed a chance to get out.

Sadly, however, Jerome had no idea where he could take them. A cry from upstairs reminded Jerome that there was still an infant in the house to worry about.

Luckily, the infant problem was quickly resolved by Paige entering the front door. "I brought milk!" Paige called as she entered the manor.

"Great, you get to watch Wyatt. Piper and Melinda are coming with me," Jerome said.

"Wait, where are you going?" Paige asked. Jerome ignored her. He sent Piper upstairs to get Melinda and drag her down if necessary. He was going to get them out of their respective moods if it killed him. And he was immortal, so killing him would require a ton of effort.

Piper came down with Melinda. "Where are we going?" Melinda asked.

"I am going to get you out of your mood if it kills me," Jerome said.

"You're immortal," Paige said.

"I know," Jerome said. Jerome grabbed Melinda and Piper by their wrists and Flickered to an Amazon temple.

Piper and Melinda staggered for a minute, unaccustomed to the feeling of Flickering. "Ugh. Why do I get the feeling I lost some internal organs back there?" Piper asked.

"I still have both arms, right?" Melinda asked. Jerome was surprised to hear Melinda say something like that. He expected it from Piper, and was glad she was at least enough herself to make sarcastic comments like that, but he had never once heard Melinda say anything even remotely sarcastic.

"Yes, you are both completely intact. Flickering feels really weird at first, but eventually you do get used to it," Jerome said.

"I feel like I just Orbed twenty times in really rapid succession," Piper said.

"Yeah, okay, I get it. Flickering feels weird," Jerome said.

"Where are we?" Melinda asked.

"We are outside of an Amazon temple," Jerome said.

"Why?" Piper asked.

"Because you, Piper, have been out of it since Leo left. And you, Melinda, have been stressing yourself sick since Chris left. You two need to get over this," Jerome said.

"What are we going to do here?" Melinda asked.

"You to are going to learn to use a sword," Jerome replied.

Piper and Melinda both froze. "We're learning what now?" Piper asked.

"How to use a sword," Jerome repeated, slowly.

"Why?" Melinda asked.

"Like I said, you two need something to get your minds back on track," Jerome said.

"Why does that mean swords? Why can't it just mean normal exercise? Or shopping? Or even food?" Piper asked.

"Because swords are considerably more exhausting and leave you much less room to think about your problems. Besides, from what I've seen neither of you are particularly useful in a physical fight," Jerome said.

"We have powers, Jerome, powers so we don't need to know how to physically fight," Piper said.

"And how effective are those powers against creatures that are impervious to magic?" Jerome asked.

"Uh, well, that's what Phoebe's for," Piper said, though rather weakly.

"Yes, Phoebe knows how to fight. Paige, to some extent, knows how to fight. Their powers aren't particularly aggressive. Your powers, Piper, are. Because of this, you've never really bothered to learn any kind of fighting," Jerome said.

"Why am I doing this?" Melinda asked.

"Because I have never seen you fight even with your powers. I don't even know what they are," Jerome said.

"Okay, why swords?" Piper asked. "Why not martial arts, like Phoebe?"

"Because I like swords better," Jerome said.

"Why are we at an Amazon temple?" Melinda asked.

"Because it's different looking than San Francisco," Jerome replied.

"Why here, specifically?" Piper asked.

"No more questions," Jerome said. "Just pick up one of those swords over there and hold it like you think you're supposed to."

Piper and Melinda both grabbed a sword. Melinda held hers with the point as far away from her body as possible, like there was a poisonous viper at the end of it. Piper held hers with the point in the ground. Jerome sighed. "We've got a lot of work to do," he said.

* * *

Wyatt was sound asleep, leaving Paige with nothing to do. "Where did they go?" Paige wondered aloud. Paige didn't have long to wonder. A demon Shimmered into the kitchen and threw an energy ball at her. Paige ducked. The demon thrust his hands towards the ground. A wall of fire erupted from the ground in front of him. Paige grabbed a vase and threw it into the flames, where she thought the demon was. A shattering and a laughing sound told her she had missed. A stream of fire came at her from the wall. Paige rolled out of the way and threw her shoe at the stream.

"You're never going to hit me like that, witch!" the demon yelled. Paige had a few potions that she was carrying with her, in case Cole attacked, but she wasn't going to waste them if she couldn't see the demon. Phoebe opened the front door, returning home from work, and saw the wall of fire.

"Paige, what did you do?" Phoebe yelled.

"Why is it always my fault when stuff catches fire?" Paige asked.

"Because you're the one who made the potion that turned you hair red, you're the one who cast the spell that turned the attic into a desert, and you're the one-"

"Okay, okay, I get it! I mess stuff up," Paige interrupted. "But this wasn't me. There's a demon behind those flames!"

A stream of fire shot from the wall. "See? Demon attack," Paige said.

"Where are Piper and Jerome?" Phoebe asked. "There's a demon here, you'd think they'd be here."

"Jerome took Piper and Melinda to some place they didn't tell me about. I don't know where they are!" Paige replied.

"Well, how do we vanquish this demon?" Phoebe asked.

"I have an idea," Paige said. She pulled a couple of potions out of her pocket, handed them to Phoebe, and said "Throw these at my face when you see it."

"What?" Phoebe asked. A stream of fire came between them, preventing Paige from answering.

"Here I go!" Paige shouted. Paige fell over. Phoebe immediately caught on to the plan. Paige was going to astral project herself into the flames and show Phoebe where the demon was.

Paige was in the flames. Seeing through fire was... weird. Everything was wrapped in heat haze and was either red or orange. Still, Paige was able to find the demon and project herself outside of the flames.

Phoebe saw Paige's face and threw the potion. She heard a shattering sound and heard the demon screaming. The flames died down, and Paige was shot back into her body. The demon erupted in a burst of flame, leaving no remains.

"What was that?" Paige asked. Paige was jumping and jittery, like she just drank fifty cups of coffee. She was also sweating.

"Stop being so hyper!" Phoebe said.

"I can't help it! I was just in fire! I feel energized and really hot!" Paige said.

"Well, go run around outside! Don't jump around in here," Phoebe said.

"Alright, fine. Wyatt's upstairs, be back in a few minutes," Paige said. Paige was about to leave when Phoebe noticed something wrong.

"Paige!"

"What?"

"Put on another shoe first!" Phoebe said.

"Fine!" Paige replied. Paige grabbed her other shoe, quickly put it on, and ran out the door.

* * *

Piper and Melinda had made little progress. They knew how to hold a sword, and that was as far as Jerome had gotten. They had been practicing for the last four hours. Melinda swung her sword, incorrectly, at Piper. Piper just let the sword phase through her. Jerome threw a low voltage energy ball at Piper's leg. It hit and stung. "Ow!" Piper said, dropping her sword and grabbing her leg.

"No powers, just blades!" Jerome said. "Melinda, don't swing the sword like a baseball bat! Think of the weapon as an extension of your arm, it isn't meant to be swung with full force, it's meant to move quickly and precisely. Try again!"

Piper picked up her sword and held it up. Melinda tried swinging her sword again, better, but still wrong. Piper moved her sword to block it, also wrong. Melinda's sword hit Piper's, pushing Piper's sword into her head. "Ow!" Piper yelled.

"Piper, hold the sword so the brunt of the impact is on your arms, not the blade!" Jerome said. "Try again!"

Piper and Melinda both loudly sighed. Melinda looked like she was about ready to collapse. Jerome decided he was going to see how long before she actually did collapse. He was guessing about five minutes.

Melinda swung her sword at Piper's. Piper held her sword to block Melinda's sword. Melinda's sword bounced off Piper's, and Piper's sword moved very little. "Good," Jerome said. "Now, Piper, counterattack!"

Piper quickly swung her sword at Melinda's exposed side. Her blade cut into Melinda's side, leaving a deep gash. Melinda cried out in pain and collapsed to the ground. Jerome was right; it took Melinda exactly four minutes and fifty three seconds to collapse. "Alright, stop. Piper, you won. Again," Jerome said. Jerome walked up to Melinda, who was crying. He healed her wound and told her to dry her tears.

"Can we please stop?" Melinda asked. "That's the third time I've had a sword in my side."

"And I think my arms are about to fall off," Piper said.

Jerome sighed. "Alright, take a break. We'll resume in a few minutes."

Piper and Melinda both groaned and collapsed on the ground. Jerome noticed a very close similarity between Piper and Melinda's behaviors. And their actions. They even looked alike. Jerome didn't dwell too much on it, though, because it was unimportant if Melinda was Piper's future daughter, like Jerome suspected. It really didn't matter.

A few minutes passed when Jerome sensed something. "On second thought, we're done for the day. We'll resume tomorrow. I have to investigate something," Jerome said.

"What is it?" Piper asked.

"I don't know yet," Jerome replied. He remote Orbed Piper and Melinda back to the manor. Jerome then Flickered to the source of the disturbance.

Piper and Melinda Orbed into the manor, right behind Paige and Phoebe. Paige and Phoebe both jumped and turned around. "Oh, you're back!" Paige said.

"Where did you go?" Phoebe asked.

"Jerome took us to some Amazon temple and made us learn how to use swords," Melinda said.

"Are you any good?" Paige asked.

Piper snorted. "No, we're awful. I don't know why Jerome's wasting his time training us. We're no good."

"Speaking of which, where is Jerome?" Paige asked.

"I don't know, he said he had to investigate something," Piper said.

"What does that mean?" Phoebe asked.

"I don't know. He didn't either, so I guess we'll find out later," Piper said.

Author's Note:

Yeah, filler chapter! I needed a break from the whole Destroyer plot. Just a short one. We'll get back to Him in the next chapter or so. If anyone is a sword expert, how well did I describe how it's done? I have no formal training in swordplay, but I do know some basics. I don't know if I described it well, though. Or if what I do know is actually completely wrong. If that's the case, please tell me. And please tell me what you thought of the chapter. I like to hear reviews.


	20. Chapter 20

Yeah, I've been holding out on you guys as far as Jerome and Paige goes. I have plans for a lot of that near the end, but I still need something in between. Keep reminding me of that periodically; I might forget again. This chapter isn't completely Jerome and Paige, but it's got some. Here you go.

Chapter 20:

Jerome had sensed great amounts of power in the middle of the Sahara. It was always the Sahara. Either that or somewhere in the Amazon. Jerome Flickered to the source of all the power he was sensing, but there was nothing there. Jerome knew something had to create that power, and it hadn't faded. Jerome still felt lingering amounts of energy where he was, and several power surges from around him. Something was creating that energy. Something powerful.

Jerome decided to try luring the source of the power to him. He shot intense lightning into the sky, hoping the source of the power would sense all his power. There was also a really good chance they'd see the lightning. It was pretty bright.

Jerome wasn't disappointed. Cole Flamed in front of Jerome. "Cole," Jerome growled.

Cole just sighed. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "I thought you were Paul or Excisio, calling me back."

"I sensed your power usage. What are you doing here?" Jerome asked. Jerome kept his guard up, even though Cole didn't seem to want to fight.

"You can relax; I'm not here to pick a fight," Cole said. Jerome didn't let his guard down. Cole shrugged. "Or you can remain tensed as a coiled spring. I really don't care."

"What are you doing here?" Jerome asked again.

"I'm looking for some place Excisio called Claustrum," Cole said. Jerome tensed.

"Why are you looking for that place?" Jerome asked.

Cole shrugged. "I just go where I'm told and don't ask questions. I was told to search for it somewhere in the Sahara. And that's what I intend to do," Cole replied.

"Do you even know what it is you're searching for?" Jerome asked.

"Some city or something," Cole said. "Excisio didn't really say."

"Why are you working with Him?" Jerome asked. "You've said you don't want revenge."

"You're right. I don't want revenge. I don't even want to cause pain. I don't mind causing pain, but I don't seek to do so," Cole said.

"Then why are you doing all this?" Jerome asked.

"Simple. I want my freedom. The Wasteland is hardly a pleasant place to exist. I want to be free to come and go, to enjoy the pleasures of this world," Cole said. "Excisio gave me a chance to have this."

"How do you plan on enjoying the pleasures of this world if this world and everything in it is destroyed?" Jerome asked. "You should know that that's all He can do. He only has the power to destroy; that's what He is, pure destruction."

Cole looked like he was about to reply when a large blast of lightning erupted in the sky to the east. Cole turned to Jerome and said "Well, that's my call. It's time I left." Cole Flamed away, leaving Jerome alone in the desert sands.

* * *

"Jerome's been gone for two hours! What could possibly be so urgent that he needs to be gone for two hours?" Paige asked while pacing anxiously in the kitchen. Melinda was sitting on the kitchen counter. Piper was upstairs with Wyatt, which was why Melinda was on the counter. Had Piper been down there she would have stopped Melinda from getting on the counter the second Melinda looked at it.

"Are you two, like, together or something?" Melinda asked.

Paige immediately blushed a deep scarlet. "No! We are not together!" she said, a little too quickly and a little too loudly.

"But you want to be," Melinda said. Her taunting reminded her of Piper. Piper used to tease Paige like that, before Leo left and Piper became so distant.

"Shut up," Paige said.

Melinda smirked. Phoebe walked into the kitchen and asked "Why are we telling Melinda to shut up?"

"She won't admit that she wants to be with Jerome," Melinda said.

"You're still into him?" Phoebe asked.

"I only ever lost interest because he left," Paige replied.

"He left? Why?" Melinda asked.

"It's a long story," Phoebe said.

Melinda was about to say something when Chris Orbed into the kitchen. "Chris!" Melinda exclaimed. She jumped off the counter and hugged him. "I was so worried about you! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Mel. It's okay, I'm alright," Chris said, hugging her back. Paige wolf whistled.

Melinda and Chris quickly stopped hugging and stepped back from each other, disgust on their faces. Melinda was red in the face. Chris was considerably better at hiding his emotions, but Phoebe could feel the embarrassment from him. Though, the embarrassment was more like a kind of parent embarrassing, not like the kind of embarrassment two people felt when they liked each other but didn't want to admit it. Phoebe, after feeling their embarrassments, thought Paige's whistle had been unjustified.

"What did you find?" Phoebe asked, before things could get any more awkward.

"Not much," Chris said. "Just this box." Chris pulled a small gray box out of his pocket. The box was completely ordinary in every way; not decorations, markings, anything. It was just a boring, gray box. It didn't even look like there was a open it.

"There wasn't anything else?" Paige asked.

Chris shook his head. "I completely searched the house. That was literally the only thing in it," he said.

"Well, what do we do with it?" Phoebe asked.

"We wait for Jerome to get back," Paige said. She saw Jerome Flicker into the living room. "Well, that didn't take long," Paige said. Everyone went into the living room to show Jerome the box.

"Jerome!" Paige called. Jerome turned around to face her. "Where did you go?"

"Just to investigate something. Nothing for you to worry about," Jerome replied.

Jerome saw Chris. "Did you find something?" Jerome asked.

Chris nodded. "Is this gray box important?" he asked, showing Jerome the box.

Jerome took the box and looked over it. "Yes, it is," he said.

"Why's it important? What's in it?" Phoebe asked.

"I don't know, but my father kept it with him everywhere he went. He never let this box out of his sight, and he frequently stressed to me and Benjamin how important it was," Jerome said.

"Can you open it?" Chris asked.

"I'm trying to. I know something's inside of it, but I don't know what or how to open it. My father never mentioned anything about opening it, other than when the time comes I'll be able to," Jerome said. "Where's Piper?"

"She's upstairs, with Wyatt," Phoebe said.

"Someone go get her. I have an idea," Jerome said.

Phoebe ran upstairs to get Piper. She came back down a few seconds later with Piper following. "Piper," Jerome said, "can you phase objects other than yourself?" Piper nodded.

"Can you phase the box, without phasing anything inside?" Jerome asked.

"I think so," Piper said.

"Here, try it," Jerome handed her the box. Piper took the box and held it. After a few seconds something small fell out of the box. Jerome picked it up. It was a key.

"Do you know what the key is for?" Paige asked.

"I have my suspicions," Jerome said. Jerome started to Flicker. Paige grabbed Jerome's arm before he completely disappeared.

Jerome and Paige appeared in a dark cave. "Where are we?" Paige asked.

Jerome glared at her. "_We _are somewhere _I _am supposed to be!" he snapped. "You aren't supposed to be here!"

"Then tell me what you're doing instead of vaguely saying 'I have my suspicions' and leaving!" Paige said, using a mock voice for what Jerome said.

"There are things you don't need to know! Things that could be extremely dangerous if you did!" Jerome exclaimed.

"I am a Charmed One, I'm used to danger! I'm always in danger from demons!" Paige said.

"Demons are nothing compared to what we're dealing with!" Jerome said, exasperated.

"Why does it matter if I'm in danger, anyway?" Paige asked.

"I don't want to have to watch you die!" Jerome yelled. Paige and Jerome grew quiet. "I've already seen people I care about die. I don't want to add you to that list," Jerome said quietly.

Jerome and Paige were silent for a while. "You can stay, if you promise to stay back and say nothing," Jerome eventually said. Paige nodded in agreement, still too stunned to speak. She had never heard Jerome burst like that before.

Jerome turned towards the back of the cave and said "Follow me, but don't get too close." Jerome started walking farther into the cave. Paige followed. Jerome reached the back of the cave, where a strange symbol was etched into the wall. The symbol looked like three circles that all overlapped each other with a triangle in the center. On the edges of each of the circles was a drawing of a snake wrapped around the edges. Jerome pressed his hand in the center of the symbol. The symbol began to glow brightly. The wall faded and revealed a door. Jerome took out the key and unlocked the door.

Paige couldn't stop herself. She asked "What just happened?"

Jerome turned to her, a somewhat amused look on his face. "That was a door, enchanted by my father to only recognize his bloodline. Had anyone else touched the seal, they would have been badly shocked or disintegrated," he said.

Jerome opened the unlocked door and entered into it. Paige followed him, cautiously. She didn't want to be shocked or disintegrated if she could avoid it. Inside was a well lit room. The light came from luminous spheres that floated around the room. At the far side of the room was a shrine with a stone tablet on it. Paige could see an image of a woman on the tablet, like a photograph. She had no idea who the woman was. She looked around the room. It was completely empty other than the shrine with the tablet.

Jerome walked to the shrine and grabbed the tablet. "Do you know who she is?" Paige asked.

Jerome nodded. "My mother," he whispered. Paige frowned.

"Isn't there supposed to be some secret thing in here that your father used to seal the Destroyer?" Paige asked. "Did your mother have anything to do with that?"

Jerome shook his head. "After my mother faded, my father became... unstable. I guess it's comparable to a human going senile. He must have put this in here, not really realizing what he was doing, and thought he hid something of great power and importance in here," Jerome said.

"Is there something else hidden in here?" Paige asked.

Again, Jerome shook his head. "No, nothing but this shrine," he replied.

Jerome up from the tablet and at Paige. "We should get back. Benjamin and Daniel need to know that there was nothing hidden of any use," Jerome said. Jerome grabbed Paige's arm and Flickered back to the manor.

As soon as they entered the living room they were bombarded by questions from Phoebe. Piper, Chris, and Melinda were gone. "What did you find?" Phoebe asked.

"A picture," Paige replied. "A picture of Jerome's mom."

"A picture?" Phoebe repeated. Paige nodded. "How is that useful?"

"It's not," Jerome said. "My father must have been confused when he did this."

"Then how do we stop the Destroyer?" Phoebe asked.

"I don't know. I need to talk to Benjamin and Daniel. If you'll excuse me," Jerome said. Jerome Flickered to the barren desert of Antarctica. He knew no one would be there. Jerome called for Daniel and Benjamin. They both Flickered in front of him.

"Did you find anything?" Benjamin asked.

Jerome shook his head. "Our father must have been insane. All he left was a picture of our mother," Jerome said.

"A picture? That's it?" Daniel asked.

Jerome nodded. "And that's not all the bad news," Jerome said.

Both Daniel and Benjamin looked worried. "What is it?" Benjamin said.

"The Destroyer's looking for Claustrum," Jerome said.

Both Benjamin and Daniel visibly paled. "He's looking for Claustrum?" Benjamin asked in unbelief.

Jerome nodded. "I sensed great power in the Sahara earlier and went to investigate it. Cole was there, and said that's what he was searching for."

"Is it possible he just said that to scare us?" Daniel asked.

Jerome shook his head. "I doubt it. Cole didn't have any idea what it was he was really looking for. Just that it was called Claustrum and was somewhere in the Sahara. Other than that, I don't think Cole knew anything about Claustrum. If he did, I doubt he would dare search for it," Jerome said.

"If the Destroyer gets into Claustrum, we're all doomed," Benjamin said.

"Worse than doomed. We're already in huge trouble with just the Destroyer, if He gets into Claustrum, there's no telling what could happen," Daniel said.

"Our chances of survival and stopping the Destroyer would go from one in six million to one in 754,253,942,653,462. If we're lucky," Jerome said.

Author's Note:

So, anyone have any guesses as to what Claustrum is? I have plans for it, don't worry, but I would love to see some guesses. I would also love to see some other reviews about how the chapter was and the little scene between Jerome and Paige.


	21. Chapter 21

Yeah, exams suck. They make people who want to write (IE. ME!) have too little time for writing. Anyway, here's the next chapter of this story.

Chapter 21:

Cole was still searching. The Sahara was a huge desert. It wasn't exactly easy finding one area in a giant desert. It was comparable to the famous needle in the haystack, though Cole had absolutely no idea why anyone would waste so much time when it would be so much easier just to go and get another needle. Needles were fairly easy to come by, as opposed to ancient magical things that Excisio said almost nothing about. Cole didn't have any idea what Claustrum was. Paul seemed to pale at the mention of it, but refused to say anything. Paul was supposed to be searching, too. Cole hadn't had any reason to suspect that Paul actually was searching, though. There was a huge difference between what someone was supposed to do and what someone was actually doing.

Cole kept searching through all the sand. He was only doing as he was told. That encounter with Jerome hadn't deterred him whatsoever. Cole was still going to search for this place, despite not knowing what it was. The fact that Jerome was so worried when he heard about it didn't phase Cole at all. The Defenders were concerned by a lot of things Excisio did. Why should Claustrum be anything more than a simple place that will give Excisio more power, or something to that effect? Maybe it held some kind of anti-Defender weapon or something. Cole didn't know. He wasn't sure he wanted to know. All Cole wanted was to be free from the Wasteland. Anything to avoid being sent back to that horrible place.

* * *

Excisio had taken over the Garden and was using it as His own base. There were several Defenders who Excisio knew were trying to form some kind of resistance, but it was a wasted effort. They would never succeed. They were all doomed to fail. Several had already attacked Excisio. Those few were no longer amongst the living. Excisio had taken a few of His prisoners and made them into servants. One of His servants entered the room.

That particular servant was a young girl, only a few hundred years old. A few hundred years for a Defender was the equivalent of about fourteen years to a mortal. The girl bowed before Excisio. Excisio had absolutely no need for a servant, but He gained a certain pleasure from watching these Defenders destroy their own pride in a vain attempt to preserve their lives. "Master," the girl muttered. How pathetic.

"Send word to Electus. Tell him that Claustrum is nearly mine, and when it is, he and every other Ancient will finally taste of death," Excisio said. He noticed the girl's eyes widen at the mention of Claustrum.

"It's real?" she asked, almost as a whisper. "Claustrum is real?"

Excisio rolled His eyes. "Of course it's real. What did you think it was?"

"A story my parents told me to make me behave when I was a child," the girl replied.

"You are a child, girl. Even by your people's standards," Excisio said. "And I suppose your parents also told you stories about the Destroyer."

The girl nodded. "And I'll bet you thought they were fake, too, huh?" Excisio asked.

The girl nodded again. "So, tell me. You currently stand before one of those stories, why shouldn't the other one be real?" Excisio asked.

"I-I... it was just so horrible, I never thought-"

"Exactly. You never thought. You never stopped to think 'I wonder of those stories were true' or 'If the Destroyer is real, does that make Claustrum real, too?' Well, Claustrum is real, and soon it will be mine," Excisio said.

"Why?" the girl asked. "What could you possibly hope to gain?"

"You ask too many questions. A servant should not be as chatty as you," Excisio said. He waved His hand in front of her. She glowed in a dark light, screamed in pain, and vanished, completely and utterly destroyed. There was nothing left of her, nothing at all. Excisio called in another servant, this one an older man, and told him to deliver the same message. The man obeyed.

* * *

Jerome, Daniel, and Benjamin, by mutual agreement, didn't tell anyone else about Claustrum. The horrors inside were far too great to speak of, and the less bleak the situation seemed, the more likely they would somehow find a way to fix everything. However, they couldn't just ignore the Claustrum problem. The threat it posed was far too great to simply ignore. The three Defenders had been meeting secretly to discuss the Claustrum problem. There were in one of their secret meetings, trying to think of a way to keep Claustrum's location hidden. "We could always attack Cole," Jerome suggested. "Attack him and chase him out of the desert."

"Then he'll just come back, as soon as we leave," Benjamin said.

"He's powerful, and crafty. Keeping him out of the desert isn't a viable option," Daniel said.

"Then we could vanquish him," Jerome suggested. "It'll be extremely difficult, but between the three of us and the Charmed Ones, we should be able to muster up enough power to send him back to the Wasteland."

"No, the Destroyer will just bring him back. Death won't stop him. The only way to stop him is if we completely destroy him, but we don't have that kind of power. Only the Destroyer has that kind of power," Daniel said.

"What about Electus?" Jerome asked. "If we made a deal with him, couldn't he get rid of Cole and protect Claustrum?"

"Perhaps," Benjamin said. "But we do not know what it would cost us. A task as great as that would surely require a great deal of sacrifice on our part."

"Are you saying it isn't worth a great sacrifice to keep Claustrum hidden, as it was meant to be?" Jerome said.

"He's right," Daniel said. "We need to be willing to give everything into keeping the Destroyer away from Claustrum. Call Electus."

Jerome remote Orbed the stone Electus had given him into his hand. Jerome called Electus using the stone. "You called?" Electus asked from behind the three Defenders.

"Yes. We wish to make a deal with you," Benjamin said. "We want you to protect Claustrum, keep the Destroyer from finding it. In exchange, we'll give you anything."

Electus clicked his tongue. "Yes, I can see why you don't want Claustrum to be found. Claustrum's a dangerous place, full of dangerous things. But, alas, I cannot make deals with Defenders. You do not possess true free will, and as a result do not possess the freedom to make a deal with me," Electus said.

Jerome turned to Daniel. "Perhaps if the sisters made the deal with him," Jerome said.

"Sorry, boy, I don't make deals unless my clients know exactly what it is they're getting. Otherwise, it's not really free will," Electus said. "So, unless you tell them exactly what Claustrum is and exactly what's in it, I can't make any deals with them."

"Absolutely not," Benjamin said. "That knowledge is far too dangerous to allow mortals to possess."

"Then there's nothing I can do for you. Now, if you don't mind, there's a woman absolutely desperate for the ability to spin straw into gold. I think she may be willing to make a deal with me. Farewell," Electus said. He turned around and walked into the distance. No one is sure when, but he disappeared sometime when walking.

"Well, what do we do now?" Benjamin asked.

"The way I see it, we have three options. We either give up and let the Destroyer have the world, we run and hide to avoid the Destroyer and Claustrum until we are eventually caught and slaughtered, or we keep fighting until we either win or we are destroyed," Jerome said. "If we fight, we have a chance, however slim, that somehow, we'll win. A chance for victory."

"Yes, we have a chance at victory, but the death if we fail will surely not be pleasant. In fact, I believe the Destroyer will personally make our destruction as painful as He possibly can if we fight," Daniel said.

"But if we don't fight, our fates are sealed, and our death is certain. Against the odds, I choose to fight," Jerome said. "What about you?"

Daniel and Benjamin both looked at each other and nodded. "Yes, against the odds, we choose to fight," both said. It was an old custom; a saying that was often spoken before a particularly nasty event. The last time it was spoken was when the Destroyer was last sealed away. Against the odds, they chose to fight. They succeeded, though it cost most of them their lives. Would the result be any better this time?

Author's Note:

Yeah, exams are evil. Sorry for the short chapter, again, exams are EVIL! So, does anyone have any more guesses as to what Claustrum is, or what's inside of it? Please, leave it in the form of a review.


	22. Chapter 22

And now to you I present the next exciting installment in Jerome's Return. (insert whatever noise you feel would be appropriate here).

Chapter 22:

Claustrum. Surely Excisio knew that it would become a double edged sword? Electus knew perfectly well what was hidden in Claustrum. Such horrors, to Defender, Ancient, and mortal alike. Claustrum housed such incredible danger, such incredible power, that if Excisio was truly intent on finding it, then He truly meant to destroy everything. Nothing was safe from Claustrum's wrath.

"Okay, you have been acting hopeless and dejected all week," Paige said. Jerome had been hopeless and dejected all week. Jerome thought of everything he could, and he came up with no way to prevent the Destroyer from getting to Claustrum, and Jerome was far from thinking of any way to seal Him away again.

"I'm trying to think of a way to stop the Destroyer," Jerome said.

"The Destroyer's been free for a while now. I don't think that's all that's been bothering you," Paige said.

Jerome said nothing. "Look, something else is up. I can tell. I've never seen you this dejected before. Tell me what's wrong," Paige demanded.

"Absolutely not," Jerome said. "Do you remember me telling you that there are some things that are too dangerous for you to know?"

"Yeah. Is this one of those things? Is that what's got you so down?"

"Yes. Something incredibly dangerous," Jerome said.

"Can we help?" Paige asked.

"No, I don't think you can," Jerome replied.

"Is it really that bad? We vanquished the Source of All Evil, we vanquished Amenti, and we vanquished the Titans," Paige said.

"This new threat makes even the Titans look powerless," Jerome said.

"Is there anything at all that you can do?" Paige asked.

"No," Jerome said.

"Well, then," Paige said. "There's no reason to mope around about it. Come on, we're going to see a movie. There's a new Harry Potter movie out."

"A what?" Jerome asked.

"You've never heard of Harry Potter?" Paige asked, dumbstruck.

Jerome shook his head. Paige stood in shock, opening and closing her mouth. "Well," she finally said. "That's even more reason for you to come!" Paige grabbed Jerome's arm and dragged him into her car.

"Do we really have to drive there?" Jerome asked.

"What's wrong with my driving?" Paige asked.

Jerome missed the "my" comment. Or he may have just ignored it. "Cars are so... unnatural. And slow," Jerome said.

"'Unnatural?'" Paige asked. "Well, yes, we have to drive there." Jerome groaned as Paige drove to the theater.

* * *

Excisio hadn't heard from Electus. He was certain Electus would have responded by now. "Electus!" He yelled. "Show yourself!"

Electus appeared behind the Destroyer. "You asked?" Electus said.

Excisio spun around. "Brother," He said.

Electus rolled his eyes. "So formal. Honestly, we've known each since the beginning. You might as well be casual about it," he said.

Excisio growled. "So," Electus continued. "Do you want me to be awkwardly formal, too? And call you 'brother' or maybe even 'Destroyer'? Or do I call you Excisio? Or have you changed it, again?"

"Excisio is fine," Excisio growled.

"Oh, so you're going back to your roots, then. Good for you, good for you. Granted, all of the rest of us have kept our names, but at least you're using it now," Electus said. Excisio groaned internally. Why had He called on Electus? Was it really worth gloating to have to put up with this incessant banter?

"Surely you realize that I'm not here for a social call," Excisio said.

"You never were much for socializing," Electus said.

"I am close to finding Claustrum, and soon it will be mine!" Excisio said. He watched for any expression on Electus face. Fear, shock, terror, awe, anger, any kind of reaction.

What He got instead was an expressionless look and a simple "Spectacular. Care to elaborate?"

"You're not afraid? Or shocked, or angry?" Excisio asked.

"Nope," Electus said.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you almost want me to get Claustrum," Excisio said.

"Don't be ridiculous. It was locked up for a good reason," Electus said.

"You think she's in there, don't you?" Excisio asked. "She's not. And even if she were, it would only be one fourth of her."

"You know nothing of love," Electus whispered. "Even a fourth of her is enough. I love her, not her power. That one fourth that isn't in an obelisk is her. What's in those obelisks is her power. I care not for her power."

"You are a fool. You have fallen for our sister, and we Ancients cannot interfere with each other anymore," Excisio said.

"Without her power, is she really an Ancient?" Electus asked. "And what are we doing right now? Are we not interfering one with another?"

"No, we are meeting together so I may inform you of my imminent success at finding the most dangerous place in existence," Excisio said.

"Well, you have told me. Are we finished? I grow weary of your presence," Electus said.

"We are. Begone," Excisio said. Electus vanished.

Cole Flamed next to Excisio. "Have you found it?" Excisio asked.

Cole shook his head. "Not yet, but there aren't many more places left to look. Are you sure it's in the Sahara?" Cole asked.

"That desert was made to hold something. All deserts are. The fact that the Sahara is the second largest leads me to believe that it may be there," Excisio said.

"What about the largest? I have no idea what this Claustrum thing we're looking for is, but it seems powerful. Wouldn't it be more likely to be in the largest desert, then?" Cole asked.

"That's where Paul is searching. Antarctica is being searched even as we speak," Excisio said. "One of you will find it, and then it will be mine!"

"What is Claustrum, anyway?" Cole asked.

"A place that holds great power," Excisio said.

"Meaning what, exactly?" Cole asked. Power could mean almost anything. Powerful items, powerful spells, powerful potions, actual powers, powerful beings, powerful devices, almost anything.

"You will have to wait and see. Find it," Excisio said. Cole Flamed back to the Sahara.

* * *

Paige and Jerome were on their way back from the movie. "So, what did you think of the movie?" Paige asked.

"It was the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen," Jerome replied.

"How could you not like it?" Paige asked.

"Well, first of all, magic does not work like that. Not even kind of. Second of all, why are a bunch of children fighting a flailing tree to go after a killer? It seems just ridiculous," Jerome said.

"So what if magic doesn't work that way? It was still a good movie. And it doesn't have to be realistic, that's why it's called fantasy," Paige argued.

"This 'fantasy' is ridiculous. It isn't practical in any way. All it serves to do is distract from reality," Jerome said.

"Sometimes people need a distraction from reality. The harsh world of business, the cruelty of men," Paige said.

"The beauty of nature, the wonders of the world, the amazing things people create. There is no need to escape reality in these ridiculous fantasy worlds. There are plenty of incredible things in reality," Jerome said.

"Not everyone sees it that way," Paige said.

"They should," Jerome said.

"Why?"

"If everyone saw the world for what it truly is, a beautiful, miraculous creation, then would they still try to harm it? Would they still be constantly seeking escape from it?"

"I guess not," Paige said.

"Exactly," Jerome said. "This world is an incredible place, and it deserves to be enjoyed."

* * *

They had finally done it. Paul had stumbled across something near the center of the continent. The Destroyer had been summoned immediately. Cole, too, had been called. Paul showed Excisio a large metal coin, imbedded in the ground, buried roughly thirty feet below sea level. The symbol on the coin was enough. It was a simple shape. A seven point star with an eye at each point. But it was the symbol for Claustrum. The Destroyer had found Claustrum.

Author's Note:

I typed all of this for you, my beloved readers, in spite of my exams (which I should probably be studying for). Now, let me explain one thing. When Excisio said that He, Electus, and Medeis (the 'she' they were referring to, in case anyone missed that) were siblings, it isn't like our siblings in our time. The love between Electus and Medeis is NOT incestuous. It's kind of like the Greek gods in mythology. They may have been siblings, but that didn't stop them from getting married. Only it's looser with the Ancients, since none of them were actually born. They were all made by the Grand Architect, and only refer to each other as siblings because that's what they most closely represent. So, there is nothing wrong with Medeis and Electus loving each other. Other than the rules the Ancients must follow. So, I'm still accepting guesses as to what exactly is in Claustrum. I'll even give you a hint: all things in the Grand Design need to be balanced. Leave your guesses in the form of reviews. And leave reviews just because you want to. I very much enjoy reading your feedback.


	23. Chapter 23

And now you shall learn the horrors of Claustrum.

Chapter 23:

Jerome was at the manor when he felt it. A sudden wave of weakness came over him. It didn't last long, maybe twenty seconds. Almost as soon as the feeling faded Benjamin and Daniel Flickered into the manor, in front of Jerome. "Did you feel that?" Benjamin asked.

"The feeling of weakness? Yes," Jerome replied.

"The Destroyer has opened Claustrum," Daniel said.

"What's Claustrum?" Paige asked as she walked into the kitchen.

"A very dangerous place," Jerome said.

"What's in it that makes it so dangerous?" Paige said.

"Something that we need to keep to ourselves," Jerome said.

"Jerome, if we're going to stop them, we may need the Charmed Ones' help," Benjamin said.

"We no longer have anything to gain from keeping them in the dark," Daniel said.

"Yeah, and we need to know what's going on," Paige said.

"Fine, I'll explain everything tonight, when everyone's here," Jerome said.

"Agreed," Daniel said.

"Agreed," Benjamin said.

"Alright, fine," Paige said.

Cole was staring at the coin in the ground. "So, what do we do with it?" Cole asked.

The Destroyer waved His hand over the coin. The coin began to glow. It disappeared and left what seemed to be a cage behind. Inside were a bunch of people. They had very dark black hair and almost ghostly white faces. "What are they?" Cole asked.

"The Adgressors," Excisio said. "Adgressors! Tu qui es adgredi! Surgere iam mundo et ducunt ad mortem!"

"Non possumus! In carcere misere capti sumus!" one of the Adgressors said.

"What language is that?" Cole asked.

"It is the language of the Ancients, demon," the Adgressor said.

"Why are you speaking it?" Cole asked.

"I did not know that they spoke this tongue," the Destroyer said.

"We are not oblivious to the changes of this world," the Adgressor said. "We know of all its languages."

"Great. How about we stick to this one?" Cole said.

"Very well," the Adgressor said. "Now, are you going to free us, or not?"

Excisio waved His hand in over the cage. The Adgressors blasted the cage with some kind of dark beam of energy. The cage shattered, and the energy blasts shot out from the ground. The Adgressor who had spoken to them before jumped out of the hole. "Finally, we are free!" he said.

"Are you their leader?" Excisio asked.

The Adgressor nodded. "I am known as Mortus," he said.

"Why were you sealed away?" Cole asked. "And what, exactly, are you?"

"We are the end," Mortus said.

Everyone had gathered in the living room at the manor. Jerome was ready to tell the story of Claustrum. They had been given basic background, that Claustrum was an incredibly dangerous place and that it was a very well guarded secret. Jerome was going to explain why. "Claustrum is where a powerful group of people known as the Adgressors are imprisoned. As you know the Grand Design is dependent on balance. Good to balance evil, life to balance death, even the Ancients have counterparts to balance each other. So, too, do we Defenders have counterparts to balance us. They are the Adgressors.

"The Adgressors have just as many powers as we do, but theirs are... different, somehow. Adgressors can kill Defenders. Likewise, Defenders can kill Adgressors," Jerome said.

"You once told me the only thing that can kill a Defender is an Ascended Defender," Paige said.

"True, but in order to protect the secret of Claustrum I had to lie. Defenders are the only things that can kill Adgressors, other than the Adgressor equivalent of Ascending, and Adgressors are the only things that can kill Defenders, other than an Ascended Defender," Jerome said.

"These Adgressor things can Ascend, too?" Paige asked.

"Yes, though we Defenders prefer to think of it as Descending rather than Ascending. They are are balances. Just as we exist to defend the balance of the Grand Design, they wish to ruin the balance of the Grand Design," Jerome said.

"If they want to ruin the balance, why don't they just kill themselves?" Piper asked.

"Other than the fact that they can't? They don't want to die. They wish to live in the total chaos that would result from the lack of balance," Jerome said.

"So, to protect the Grand Design you guys sealed them in Claustrum?" Paige guessed.

"No, Electus did," Jerome said.

"I thought you knew nothing about the Ancients until recently?" Paige asked.

"We didn't," Benjamin said. "Up until yesterday we only knew what the Adgressors are and that they were sealed in Claustrum. We spoke to Electus yesterday about the finer details Jerome is telling you."

"Yes. Not only are the Adgressors incredibly powerful and dangerous, they are many. There are just as many of them as there were Defenders. But, with the Destroyer's attack on the Garden, our numbers are dwindling," Jerome said.

"Okay, so I get that these guys are horrible, but the way you were acting it seemed as if they were much worse than you're saying they are," Paige said. "I mean, you guys can beat them. You have the power to kill them."

"Yes, but the Adgressors have one advantage over us. We, eventually, decide to fade away. They don't. There are some Adgressors that have been around since their creation. These Adgressors are extremely skilled at fighting us, since they have survived all of our encounters and wars. These Adgressors are the most dangerous, because they know how to fight us and survive. As they grow older, they only gain more experience and knowledge. We eventually fade, and our knowledge and experience are lost," Jerome said.

"And there may be other things hidden in Claustrum. Electus never openly said it, but he implied that Claustrum houses other secrets, besides the Adgressors," Benjamin said.

"Like what?" Phoebe asked.

"We do not know," Daniel said.

"Electus didn't give us any specific details. As it is, he barely implied that there's anything else in Claustrum to begin with," Jerome said. "For all we know, Claustrum only houses the Adgressors. Besides, aren't they bad enough?"

Everyone thought for a minute. "Yeah, they do sound pretty bad. And I guess, now that I think about it, anti-Defenders would be a good reason to panic," Paige said. "I was just expecting something, I dunno, a bit more, uh..."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. After all the Ancient stuff we've been doing, anti-Defenders seem kind of anticlimactic. But I assure you, they are extremely dangerous," Jerome said.

"Our odds of success have dramatically dropped," Benjamin said.

"And they were pretty low to begin with," Jerome added.

"What do you plan on doing now?" Cole asked Mortus.

Mortus ignored Cole and turned to Claustrum. "Brethren! Who locked us down there?" he shouted.

"Electus!" the rest of the Adgressors replied.

"And now that we're free, what are we going to do?" Mortus asked.

"Lock him up! Lock him up! Lock him up!" the crowd chanted.

"We're going to make him pay! We're going to find him, lock him up in this wretched prison, and let him suffer as we destroy his balance!" Mortus said.

The crowd of Adgressors cheered. "Mulciber! Gelus! Fulmen! Come to me!" Mortus called.

Three Adgressors came out of Claustrum. "These three and myself are the only Adgressors who have survived every single encounter we've ever had with the Defenders. We four have been around from the beginning, and we will be around in the end," Mortus explained. "You, demon, you smell as if you bare enhanced powers. Is this true?"

"I have destroyed the barriers that keep him from using his powers to their fullest extent," Excisio said.

"You are Excisio, aren't you?" Mortus said. "The Destroyer."

Excisio nodded. "And," Mortus said, "may I assume that you didn't free us out of kindness? You Ancients never were big on generosity."

"I did not. I want you to go to war once again with the Defenders. There is one Defender, specifically. Jerome. Many of his powers have been sealed and he can only use a few of them," the Destroyer said. "However, he has proved himself to be extremely crafty and highly dangerous. Find him, break him, and bring him to me. Alive."

"Very well. He will be no match for us," Mortus said. Mortus turned to Paul. "You. You have

the stench of a Defender, yet you do not reek of all the powers Defenders have."

"His powers have been destroyed. He has agreed to serve me in exchange for the chance to kill Jerome. In order to make him an effective servant, he now only has lightning based powers and telekinesis. Cole, likewise, has only fire based powers and telekinesis," the Destroyer said.

"I see. Tell me, demon, can your powers kill a Defender?" Mortus asked.

"I don't know. I've never tried," Cole said. The Destroyer waved his hand. A Defender appeared in front of him.

"Now you can try," Excisio said.

Cole blasted blue fire at the Defender. The Defender screamed in pain, but didn't die. Cole continued the stream of fire until Mortus said "Stop."

Cole stopped and looked at Mortus. "You cannot kill a Defender. The power doesn't belong to you," Mortus said. Mortus blasted the Defender with dark energy. The Defender screamed in pain and, after a few seconds, disintegrated into dust.

Mortus turned to one of the three Adgressors. The one he spoke to was a girl, who would have been pretty had she not been so unnaturally pale with such dark hair. "Gelus, bring me an Adgressor. One of the youngest," Mortus ordered her.

The girl, Gelus, jumped back down into Claustrum and came back with another pale faced Adgressor. "Now," Mortus said to Cole. "Try and kill him."

The Adgressor had a look of shock on his face as Cole blasted him with fire. Like with the Defender, the Adgressor didn't die. "Stop," Mortus said. He turned to Paul. "You try."

Paul blasted the Adgressor with lightning. The Adgressor screamed in pain, but again he didn't die. "Stop," Mortus said. "It seems that there's something you're missing. Perhaps only full powered Defenders can kill an Adgressor."

"There's only one way to find out," Cole said. "Send that one against Jerome. If Jerome can kill him, then it doesn't require full power to do."

"I was about to suggest the same thing," Mortus said. "You," he said to the Adgressor. "Go find the Defender known as Jerome, and break him."

"But do not kill him, or you'll have me to answer to," Excisio said.

The Adgressor bowed and Flickered away. "You do not command my people," Mortus said. "I do."

"I can destroy all of your people with just a wave of my hand. Do not forget that I hold the real power here," the Destroyer said. Mortus growled.

Author's Note:

The hidden horrors of Claustrum have finally been revealed. Or have they? Is there something else hidden in Claustrum, or was Electus just being vague? Review and guess, or review just because you can.


	24. Chapter 24

This story, well, The Greatest Power, technically, has caught the attention of some people people on the Reading Team Members of . They invited me to join their website and write some stuff, so I did. If anyone is interested in reading some of my original stories, check out my profile: userInfo?wid=2354. Now, on to the actual reason you clicked on this story.

Chapter 24:

Jerome felt him before anything else. A dark, negating power coming from the window. Jerome turned and saw a figure with jet black hair and ghostly pale skin jumping through the window. His wicked yellow eyes glowed as the window shattered. He grabbed Benjamin, who was nearest the window, and threw him at Daniel. Both fell to the ground. The figure, an Adgressor, jumped towards Jerome. Piper tried to freeze him. The Adgressor was unaffected. She tried blowing him up. He wasn't phased. The Adgressor blasted Jerome with powerful wind. Jerome was sent flying backwards into a wall. Jerome left an indent in the wall. Phoebe ran up behind the Adgressor and kicked him in the back of the head. The Adgressor staggered forward. He turned around, saw Phoebe, and grinned. His grin was highly unsettling. "Hello, witch," the Adgressor said.

"How does every supernatural being know we're witches?" Phoebe asked no one in particular.

The Adgressor answered anyway. "You smell of a witch," he said.

"We smell like witches?" Phoebe asked. The Adgressor ignored her and telekinetically threw her against a wall. Piper tried to blow him up again. It served only to get his attention. The Adgressor raised his eyebrow.

"More witches?" he said.

Paige called out "Television!" and directed the Orbed TV towards the Adgressor. The TV hit the Adgressor, who turned towards Paige.

"Three witches?" he said. He sniffed deeply. "And you smell of sisterhood. Three sisters, who are also witches." He sniffed again. "That's old magic I smell. An ancient prophesy, the Charmed Ones." The Adgressor grinned. "I get to be the one who kills the Charmed Ones."

Chris jumped onto the Adgressor's back. The Adgressor spun around and threw Chris off of his back. "Now, now, what are you?" he said. "You smell of Whitelighter, but also of witch."

"I'm a Whitelighter, I spend a lot of time with witches," Chris replied.

"You smell far more strongly than that," the Adgressor said. There was no time for a reply, Jerome had gotten up and blasted the Adgressor with lightning. The Adgressor grunted and was blasted into a wall. By that point most of the walls had holes in them, most holes shaped like people. Jerome walked towards the Adgressor and blasted him with lightning. The Adgressor screamed in pain and, after a few seconds of continuous exposure to Jerome's lightning, disintegrated.

Jerome stopped blasting lightning. "Is he dead?" Jerome asked.

Benjamin got up and went over to the ashes of the Adgressor. "Yes, he is dead," Benjamin said.

"What was that?" Phoebe asked as she got up.

"That was an Adgressor," Jerome said.

"Oh, well, I see why you're so afraid of them," Phoebe said.

"He was a younger one," Daniel said, after he got up. "You can tell by the way he attacked. He didn't bother defending himself and he held back much of his power."

"He was holding back?" Paige asked.

"Yes. Hopefully we'll never have to fight the oldest ones," Jerome said.

* * *

"He has fallen," Mortus said.

"What?" Cole asked.

"The Adgressor we sent after Jerome. He has fallen," Mortus said.

"Jerome killed him?" Cole asked.

"So it would seem," Mortus replied.

"How is that possible? He doesn't have all of his powers," Cole said.

"No, but his powers weren't destroyer, they were sealed. He can still kill us," Mortus said.

"Was he burned?" Mulciber asked.

"No, more likely electrocuted," Cole said.

"Shut up, Mulciber," Mortus said.

"May I go burn him?" Mulciber asked.

"No, now shut up," Mortus said.

"I have been locked up for so very long," Mulciber said.

"Yeah, we all have, you idiot," Mortus said.

"I want to burn things," Mulciber said.

"You want to burn things?" Mortus asked. "Go burn Gelus. See what happens."

"I don't want to burn her, she'll freeze me. And Fulmen will shock me. I want to burn something that doesn't bite back," Mulciber said.

"If I take you somewhere you can burn something, will you shut up?" Mortus asked.

"Yes," Mulciber replied.

"Fine. Follow me," Mortus said. Mortus Flickered to a small town in Italy. Mulciber followed, leaving Cole behind, unsure of what happened.

Mortus and Mulciber appeared in the small town, freaking out a ton of the villagers. Mortus blasted many of the villagers with dark energy. "Burn the town," Mortus said.

Mulciber gave a grin of glee and threw fireballs at all of the buildings. The buildings ignited and burned. Mulciber shot a stream of fire at one particularly large building, quickly burning it to the ground. Some large men ran towards Mortus and Mulciber. Mortus rolled his red eyes. Two of the men grabbed Mortus, one on each arm. Mortus turned to one of them and grinned. "Now, do you really think that's a good idea?" he asked.

"Io non parlo la vostra lingua," one of the men said.

"Peccato," Mortus said. Mortus threw one of the men into a burning building. He used his free hand to grab the other man by his neck. He crushed the man's windpipe, killing him. The other men stared in shock. Mortus threw the dead man at the other men, knocking all of them down.

"Burn them," Mortus ordered. Mulciber happily complied, blasting the men with a torrent of scorching hot blue fire. The men screamed. Most people would be horrified by the sound of shrieking as men burned to death. To Mortus and Mulciber it was music. Most people would be revolted by the smell of burning flesh. To Mortus and Mulciber there was no sweeter smell.

Mortus turned to Mulciber. "Are you content now? You've burned an entire town to the ground," Mortus asked.

Mulciber nodded. "Good. Then let's go back," Mortus said. He and Mulciber Flickered back to Antarctica, where the Destroyer had been since releasing Claustrum.

* * *

It had to be there. Electus was in Claustrum, searching. He knew it was risky, since the Adgressors wanted him punished for sealing them away, but he had to find it. It had to be in Claustrum; it was the only place left. There was no one else that it could possibly be. Electus ducked behind a column as an Adgressor walked by. Luckily, none of them expected to see anyone wandering around in Claustrum. It was their prison, and they had a very difficult time understanding why anyone would freely want to be in it. The inside of Claustrum really wasn't that bad. It had large, Greek style buildings (though Electus was reasonably sure that Claustrum had been around much longer than Greece) and green fields and several forests. Claustrum was actually really nice. But, turn a place into a prison and it becomes hideous in the eyes of the prisoners. Electus turned around a large statue and saw, in the middle of a plaza, an altar. On the altar were six items; a sword, a staff, a wand, an orb, a spear, and a very large hammer.

The sword was long, pure black save a red stone in the pommel and another in the center of the hilt, and was very narrow in the center of the blade but wider near the cross-guard and the tip. The staff had a clock on the end of a long, blackthorn rod. The blue clock had a button on the top and two black hands, though the clock itself had no numbers, only tick marks. The wand was made of mahogany and was very plain save the purple handle. The orb was a solid gold color and shone brilliantly. The spear was made of a white material and was a simple, long shaft with a sharp spearhead on the end. The hammer was silver and had a large mallet head on the end of a long shaft with a somewhat pointed bottom.

Electus was interested only in two things; the orb and the wand. Each of those six items belonged to an Ancient. Those items had certain properties that were similar to their owners powers. The orb was Electus' item, and it had the power to show the consequences of certain choices. The wand had belonged to Medeis. It had the power to cast spells without the need for spoken word. The user just had to think of the effect, and the wand would cast a spell that would accomplish that effect. The wand, however, did not free good witches from the consequences of personal gain. Electus wasn't sure what any of the other items did, mostly because he didn't care, but he knew they all had something to do with the Ancients' respective spheres of influence.

Electus had what he had gone there for. He had Medeis' wand and his orb. Excisio was right; Medeis wasn't in Claustrum. Electus had a pretty good idea of where she was, though.

Author's Note:

This chapter was a bit shorter, but it was pretty action filled. So, as I mentioned earlier, I'd really appreciate it if you guys would go to noveljoy and look at my original stories. As of right now I only have one, but more will come. And please, as always, review for this story.


	25. Chapter 25

My well of ideas is beginning to run a little dry, so if anyone wants to add some of their own for this story, please feel free to do so.

Chapter 25:

"I am light, I am one too strong to fight. Return to the dark where shadows dwell, you cannot have this Halliwell. Go away and leave my sight, and take with you this endless night!" Phoebe chanted. The Woogyman, also known as the shadow of the nexus, screamed and was sucked back into the nexus.

"So, what you're saying is that there's a demon in your nexus, and that's why it remains relatively unused," Jerome said.

"Yeah, pretty much," Paige said.

"It would have been really nice of you to tell me that before I tried to use it," Jerome said.

"It would have also been nice of you to tell us you wanted to try and use it before you tried it," Paige retorted.

"Fair enough," Jerome said. He turned to Phoebe. "What was the spell you were using?"

"Uh, well, I just refer to it as the Woogyman spell. It's something Grams used to tell us every night before bed," Phoebe said. "Why do you ask?"

"It sounds very familiar," Jerome said. "I think it's a lot older than that."

"What was it used for?" Phoebe asked.

"I'm not sure," Jerome said. "It as definitely used to seal something, but I don't know what."

"Do you remember anything about the other spell?" Paige asked.

"I remember some of it. 'I am might, I am far too strong to fight. Begone from what we love so well, you cannot live where we do dwell. Go away, begone from sight' and I can't remember the last line," Jerome said.

"'And suffer from eternal plight,'" Benjamin said, walking into the kitchen. "That's a very old spell, Jerome."

"How old is it?" Paige asked.

"I'm not sure. I don't know if anyone knows how old it is," Benjamin said.

"Do you know what it was used for?" Jerome asked.

"I can't remember. Obviously a sealing spell of some sort," Benjamin said.

"Clearly. And I'm fairly certain it was a powerful one, too," Jerome said.

"And there are many variations and derivatives of it, such as the one to banish the shadow in the Halliwell nexus back into the nexus," Benjamin said.

"So, couldn't there be some variation of it to seal the Destroyer?" Paige asked.

"I don't know. It's a powerful spell, to be sure, but I don't know if it's quite that powerful," Jerome said.

* * *

"There has to be something else in Claustrum," Cole said.

"We were in Claustrum, isn't that enough?" Gelus said.

"No, I don't believe that the entire city only held you," Cole said. Cole had been allowed to see the inside of Claustrum for a short time. It was huge. Excisio Himself had gone down into Claustrum, searching for something. He wouldn't say what, though. The Adgressors were very protective of the city.

"Well, then don't believe it. I really don't care," Gelus replied.

"And Excisio is after something down there, so I really doubt you're it," Cole said.

"What the Destroyer is after is his own business," Gelus said.

Gelus Flickered away, leaving Cole. Mortus jumped out of the giant hole that led to Claustrum shortly after Gelus left. "Hey, demon, I've been thinking. We may want the other demons on our side, since I can almost guarantee that the witches and other good beings are going to fight back. If we can recruit some demons, then we won't have to waste as much time dealing with all those good beings," Mortus said.

"Why not recruit the good beings? Aren't there more of them?" Cole asked.

"Simple. Good beings do not react as well to raw power. However, with demons you can show them how insanely powerful you are, and they'll follow you blindly. Even to their own destruction," Mortus said.

"Why me?" Cole asked.

"You ask a lot of questions for a demon," Mortus said. "Most would leap at the chance to rule the Underworld."

"I'm also half witch, so my demonic nature isn't particularly prevalent," Cole said.

"Half demon, half witch. What demon would be foolish enough to bed a witch? Or what witch would be stupid enough to bed a demon?" Mortus asked, though it seemed to be a rhetorical question.

Cole answered anyway. "The Source of All Evil and a Charmed One," Cole said.

The look of pure shock on Mortus' face was priceless. "The Source, and a Charmed One," he said. "Well, um, okay..."

"So, why do I have to be the one to take over the Underworld?" Cole asked, interrupting what was likely a highly disturbing and confusing moment for the Adgressor.

"You're already a demon. They are far more likely to let you lead than any of us," Mortus said.

"You want me to take over the Underworld so you don't have to bother fighting witches, right?" Cole asked.

"Precisely," Mortus said.

"Very well, I'll get started," Cole said. He Flamed away.

* * *

Jerome hadn't neglected teaching Piper and Melinda swordplay, much to their dismay. He was holding weekly sessions with them. Phoebe, who Cole (Belthazor Cole, not her son Cole) had trained a bit in swordplay, came to one of Jerome's sessions. She was completely overwhelmed by his training and refused to go to another. Naturally, Piper and Melinda were pretty unhappy with Jerome. "Even Phoebe thinks we're being pushed too hard," Piper said.

"And yet you have shown incredible improvement. You, Piper, beat Phoebe," Jerome said.

"Well, yeah, but," Piper started.

"So," Jerome interrupted, "that means that my training, harsh as it may be, is working. Very well."

Piper had shown remarkable improvement. She had gotten fairly good in the short amount of time. Much better than Melinda. The poor girl wasn't very good. She had improved, dramatically, but Jerome doubted she would ever be very good. Piper, however, had the potential to be a good swordsman, or woman. She still had a ways to go, of course. But she had potential.

That day Paige had come to watch. Jerome tried to get her to train, at least a little, but she refused. Phoebe had probably warned her. Piper and Melinda were sparring. Both had gotten really good at holding their swords. Piper swung her sword over her right shoulder, at Melinda's left side. Melinda moved her sword to block Piper's. "Stop!" Jerome called out. "Melinda, never block a sword swing with the edge of your blade. Use the flat side. Again!"

Piper repeated her attack. Melinda blocked it, that time with the flat of the blade. Melinda counterattacked by swinging the sword upwards at Piper's right arm. The blade nicked Piper's skin. "Very effective, but a bit obvious. Most swordsman will be prepared for a move like that and will know how to block it," Jerome said.

Melinda grinned a little. That was the closest thing to a praise she had ever gotten from Jerome. It counted as a victory in her book. Jerome had them begin again, that time without correcting anything. "They're pretty good," Paige commented.

Jerome rolled his eyes. "Yeah, a few more years and they might achieve a level of mediocrity," Jerome remarked.

"What are you talking about? Melinda's really good, and Piper is incredible," Paige said.

"Stop," Jerome called. Piper and Melinda both stopped, mid swing.

"What'd we mess up this time?" Piper sighed.

"A lot, but that's not why I've stopped you. Piper, you're going to spar with me now," Jerome said.

Piper's eyes grew wide with fear. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! I'm doing what now?" Piper asked.

"You're sparring Jerome," Melinda said happily.

Piper glared at Melinda. "Yeah, thanks for clearing that up!" she snapped.

"Melinda, you shouldn't sound so thrilled. You'll be next," Jerome said. Melinda's expression fell and became one of dread. Paige looked at Jerome and Piper with interest.

Piper stepped forward, sword cautiously drawn. Jerome gestured for her to make the first move, sword still sheathed. Both of Jerome's hands were held in front of him. Piper swung her sword at Jerome's shoulder. Jerome moved to the side, dodging the blade. Piper tried to swing her sword at Jerome again, but he rolled to the side. Somehow, Jerome had managed to draw his sword while rolling. Jerome leapt at Piper, sword in the air. Piper held her sword horizontally in front of her. Jerome struck Piper's blade near the hilt, knocking the sword out of her hands. Jerome flipped and landed behind her. Jerome turned around and held his sword to Piper's neck. "Dead," he said.

Jerome lowered his sword and sheathed it. Piper picked her sword up and walked to the side to sit down. Jerome looked at Melinda and gestured for her to step forward. She shook her head. "Melinda," Jerome said dangerously.

Melinda slowly stepped forward, sword raised. Jerome unsheathed his sword and held it loosely by his side. Melinda stayed put, shaking slightly. "Hold your sword steady. A shaking sword will do you no good in battle," Jerome said. Melinda took a deep breath and steadied her sword.

Paige was standing next to Piper. "Does he do that a lot?" Paige asked.

"Do what?" Piper asked.

"Spar with you guys," Paige said.

"Oh, no. This is the first time he's ever even pulled out his own sword," Piper said.

"Really? How does he show you what to do, then?" Paige asked.

"He doesn't. He tells us how, but he says we shouldn't try to mimic him, but picture ourselves doing it in our minds, or some other nonsense like that," Piper said.

Jerome, meanwhile, had disarmed Melinda in three seconds flat. Melinda was crouched on the ground, hands over her head, while Jerome stood over her, sword sheathed and eyebrow raised. He walked over to Paige and Piper and said "And that's why you need to train."

"Why don't you show them how to use their swords?" Paige asked. "Why do you make them figure it out themselves?"

"I tell them what they need to do. I don't show them because if they see me do it first then they are going to picture me doing it in their minds, and not themselves doing it. Copying me and truly using a sword are two very different things," Jerome said.

"Is that how you learned?" Paige asked.

"My teacher taught me by example, and it took a very long time before I was able to truly use a sword. For a long time all I was doing was copying my teacher. I'm trying to spare them the difficulty of learning true swordplay on their own," Jerome said.

"I still don't see how telling us is any different than showing us," Piper said.

"If I tell you the basics you'll know what to do, how to properly use a sword just as well as if I showed you, but you wouldn't have the natural feel of a swordsman. Your weapon would just be a weapon and not an extension of your body, like it's supposed to be," Jerome said. "I learned this lesson the hard way, trust me that I'm saving you a lot of time and effort."

"Alright, you know best," Piper said.

"Good. Now, Piper, Melinda, face off against each other again," Jerome said.

* * *

Electus had what he needed. There was a man, a witch, technically, who had the power to change into other people. Not like a shape-shifter, but to truly become another. He still retained a sense of who he was, but he also had the thoughts and minds of the person he changed into. Electus was going to "borrow" his power.

"Please, my wife is dying," the man said to Electus one day. "I'll do anything, just please save her. My son needs her; I need her."

"Anything? Would you be willing to change into someone for me?" Electus asked.

"Yes! Of course, just please save my wife," the man pleaded. Electus snapped his fingers.

"Your wife is healed, she will live another day. Now, for your end of the bargain," Electus said.

"Yes, yes. I'll change. Do you have something that belonged to this person?" the man asked.

"Yes, here," Electus said, holding out Medeis' wand.

The man grabbed it and focused. He grunted and groan of pain escaped his lips. His eyes started glowing, and he changed into a beautiful woman with long, dark hair and eyes as pure blue as a crystal clear lake on a bright sunny day. Electus took a brief intake of breath. "Medeis," he muttered.

She turned to him. "Electus," she said. "Somehow, I knew you'd find me."

"I haven't found you yet. But I will find you. I just need some kind of clue," Electus said.

"They created a new dimension, just to hold me. If I had my powers back, I could escape, but alas, I don't," Medeis said.

"Where is this dimension? How can I get there?" Electus asked.

Medeis began to fade. "Electus, this witch doesn't possess enough power to sustain me for very long," she said. "Even in my weakened state, I'm afraid I'm still too powerful for him."

"How can I find you?" Electus repeated.

"I don't know. Perhaps one of our brothers, maybe Caelus-" Medeis was unable to finish her thought. She completely changed back into the witch, who promptly collapsed on the ground. Electus nudged him with his foot. The man seemed to be alive. Electus grabbed Medeis' wand and left, planning on having a chat with his brother.

Author's Note:

I kind of need ideas. Filler ideas, because I know what I want to do, for the most part, for some of the final battles and confrontations. We all know that a confrontation between Jerome and Mortus is inevitable, and that eventually Paul and Jerome are going to have some kind of epic battle. So, I have all of that more or less planned out, but I'm not quite ready to rush the story to its conclusion. So, if anyone wants to feed me ideas for some fillers, I'd really appreciate it. And reviews with anything in them are nice, too.


	26. Chapter 26

I've been kind of curious as to whether you guys like this story or The Greatest Power better. Let me know which is better as far as writing and plot go.

Chapter 26:

"Jerome, we've been thinking," Benjamin said.

"Well, that's cause for alarm," Jerome retorted.

Benjamin ignored him. "We are going to need the rest of our people if we want to stand a chance against the Adgressors."

"Where are we going to keep all of those people?" Jerome asked.

"We have set up an area where they would be able to hide in safety," Daniel said. "We have been working on it for some time now."

"Is that where you disappear off to all the time?" Jerome asked.

"Yes. It should be hidden from the Adgressors and the Destroyer," Benjamin said.

"So, how do we move a, hopefully, large mass of people from the Garden, which I imagine is well guarded, to this location?" Jerome asked.

"A portal," Daniel replied.

"A portal? You want to make a portal in the Garden to this mysterious place you set up?" Jerome said.

"No, you are," Daniel said.

"Me?" Jerome asked.

"Yes, you. You have proven yourself to be a far more capable warrior than either Daniel or myself," Benjamin said.

"And we believe that you have the best chance of infiltrating the Garden," Daniel said.

"And how exactly am I supposed to make this portal?" Jerome asked.

Benjamin stepped forward and held out a black rod of metal. "Draw a doorway on a wall somewhere and it will create a portal between the hidden place and the Garden. Then all you have to do is lead everyone into the portal. When the last person has entered, break the rod and it will close the portal."

"Why don't the other Defenders just leave?" Paige asked. Everyone turned around to look at her; none of them had heard her come in.

"Likely due to fear. Most Linears are dependent on the Council to make major decisions. Very few of them are brave enough to do anything on their own," Daniel said. "Jerome is one of these few, and I believe that because he is only a Linear he will spark the courage in the rest of them."

"So, you guys are going to go bust a bunch of Defenders out of the Garden?" Paige asked.

"No, Jerome is going alone," Benjamin said.

"Wait, what?" Paige asked. "No, he isn't! I'm going with him if you guys aren't!"

"Absolutely not. Paige, it's way too dangerous," Jerome said.

"I can Orb my way out if I have to!" Paige protested. "Besides, I can take care of myself."

"We don't know what kind of defense the Destroyer has around the Garden. Cole or Paul could be there. He could be there for all we know," Jerome argued.

"And if He is, then I'll leave," Paige said. "Besides, what if the Defenders are reluctant to leave?"

"Then I'll deal with it," Jerome said.

"Or you could bring me and I can help you deal with it," Paige said.

"What do you know about convincing Defenders?" Jerome said.

"Well, from what I've seen with you, Daniel, and Benjamin, you're a lot like us, at least in terms of thinking," Paige said.

"So?" Jerome asked.

"Well, I was a social worker, I know how to deal with people," Paige replied.

"It doesn't matter. It's still too dangerous," Jerome said.

"Actually, Jerome, she may have a point," Benjamin said.

"No, she doesn't," Jerome said.

"I disagree. I think she may prove useful if you were to bring her," Daniel said.

"See? Even they agree that I should go," Paige said.

Jerome visibly weakened. He could argue with one person easily, but three were completely different. "If I have any reason to believe that you're in too much danger, you leave immediately. Understand?" Jerome asked, relenting.

Paige brightened. "Yes, I understand! Thank you! When do we leave?"

"Right now," Jerome said, grabbing Paige by the arm and Flickering to the Garden.

* * *

Cole had taken over the Underworld in about forty minutes. He was so much more powerful than the other demons that most of them subjected themselves after he vanquished one demon. Cole thought the demon's name was Zankou or something like that. All it took was one little enhanced fireball and Zankou was dead. Almost all of the other demons submitted themselves to him after that.

One demon was standing in front of Cole, waiting for orders. "What was your name, again?" Cole asked.

"Steve, sir," the demon replied.

"Steve? What kind of demonic name is Steve?" Cole asked.

"Well, to be fair, sir, your name is Cole," Steve replied.

Cole glared at Steve until he winced. "Fair enough. Steve, find any demons who question my leadership and bring them to me," Cole ordered. "I'm going to teach them to yield to my will."

Steve bowed and Shimmered away. Mortus Flickered in behind Cole. "Excellent," Mortus said.

Cole turned around. "Well, I've taken over the Underworld, for the most part. What do you want me to do now?"

"For now, have the demons behave like they normally do. We don't want to draw attention to your leadership just yet. When the time is right, have your demons launch a full on assault against the forces of good. We need them distracted, and the more lives are lost the easier it will be to upset the balance of the Grand Design," Mortus said. "With luck, you're demons will wipe out every single force of good in the world."

"Or the other way around, right?" Cole asked. "You don't really care who wins in the end, do you?"

Mortus flashed Cole a wicked grin. "Of course I do. I care if I win." Mortus Flickered away.

* * *

Electus had managed to find Caelus pretty easily; the other Ancient didn't exactly make his realm all that subtle. Everywhere Electus looked there were stars. It was like staring at the night sky, with it entirely around you. In the distance Electus saw a dark sphere. Electus assumed that was Caelus. Electus walked over to the sphere and spoke to it. "Brother."

The sphere turned and revealed an old face in the center of the other side. The face was wrinkled and had eyes so squinted that it was impossible to tell what color they were. It had a long beard, and was unmistakably male. It opened its mouth to speak. "What are you doing here, Electus?"

"Must you have such a gruesome face?" Electus asked.

Caelus took the form of a young man, early twenties, with dark hair, a faint mustache, and bright blue eyes. "Better?" he asked.

"Much," Electus replied. "Now, to answer your first question, where is Medeis?"

Caelus laughed. "And you honestly think that I'm going to tell you where your precious girl is? You must have gone insane from spending so much time in the world."

"You will tell me, because if you don't we may very well lose the entire thing we are sworn to protect," Electus said.

Caelus laughed again. "And you're going to destroy it, is that it?"

Electus shook his head. "No, Excisio is."

Caelus stopped laughing. "So, He's out?"

Electus nodded. "Not only that, but He's found Claustrum and opened it."

"I don't believe you," Caelus said.

"Well, then believe this." Electus held out his orb.

Caelus' eyes widened. "But, those items are in Claustrum. How did you get it, unless-"

"Claustrum really has been opened? Yes, it has. My orb is proof. I fetched it from the depths of the infernal city itself," Electus said, interrupting Caelus.

Caelus was silent for a moment. "Well," he eventually said. "That could be problematic."

"The Adgressors are only the beginning of the things that have been locked up in Claustrum. Dragons, hydras, chimaeras, and all sorts of other horrible monsters that no mortal could ever hope to defeat. The Adgressors hope to destroy the balance of the Grand Design, and Excisio is more than happy to help. Medeis is the only one of us with enough power to stop them," Electus said.

"Ancients cannot interfere with other Ancients," Caelus muttered.

"That was after Medeis was split in four and locked up," Electus said. "She never made those binding oaths, never spoke those binding words."

Caelus looked thoughtful for a moment. "You cannot reach her. Aevus, Aedifex and myself combined our powers to create a barrier around her prison. I can undo my part of the barrier, the part that makes it impossible to reach. Aevus' part is an area around it, completely frozen in time. If you enter, time will cease to move forward for you, and you will be stuck in time."

"And Aedifex's part? What does his part do?" Electus asked.

"His part makes it so that no matter how hard you try, you can never breach the prison walls. They keep recreating themselves as they're destroyed," Caelus replied.

"Any particular reason Excisio wasn't a part of that barrier?" Electus asked.

"Yes. He cannot create anything, He only has the power to destroy. He couldn't have created a barrier, even if it was one that destroyed anything to touch it. We tried," Caelus said.

"Well, I guess that works to my advantage. One less Ancient to convince," Electus said.

"A word of warning, brother. The other two may be less willing to help than I was," Caelus said.

"I know," Electus replied. "That's why I came to you first."

* * *

Excisio knew it had to be in there somewhere. Everything that was dangerous and was never meant to be free was hidden in Claustrum. Dragons, hydras, chimaeras, and all sorts of other hideous monsters were imprisoned in the city. So it must be in there.

Excisio was near the very bottom of Claustrum. There were monsters of such great horror that even He would think twice before releasing, items of such terrible power that not even a Defender or an Adgressor would dare touch them, and spells of such potency that no spellcaster could ever hope to say and survive.

At last, He found it. At the very bottom of the city was an altar. But Excisio didn't care about the altar; He cared about what the altar held. His sword, the Sword of the Destroyer. It was a long, black blade with a scarlet red stone in the pommel and another in the center of the hilt, and was very narrow in the center of the blade but wider near the cross-guard and the tip. Excisio grabbed the sword, noticing that two items were missing. Excisio looked closely. Electus' orb and Medeis' wand were missing. Excisio frowned. Where could they have gone?

Then it hit Him. Electus. He must have taken the orb and the wand sometime after Claustrum was released. That must have been why he seemed to not care that Claustrum was open, that must have been why Electus almost seemed to want Claustrum free. Electus must have had the orb and wand.

Author's Note:

Alright, stuff is happening! This story is nearing its end, though I'd say there are probably still a few more chapters coming, though it's too early to make any accurate guesses. So, please leave me a review about what you thought about this chapter, or this story in general. And don't forget, I'd really like to hear your opinions about whether this story is as good, or maybe even better, than its prequel, he Greatest Power.


	27. Chapter 27

Alright, let's get going!

Chapter 27:

Jerome and Paige appeared in the Garden, right behind a dilapidated building. Jerome looked around, searching for any Adgressors or other guards the Destroyer may have left. He didn't see any. In fact, Jerome didn't see anyone. At all. There were no Defenders anywhere. Jerome frowned. He turned to Paige. "Follow me, but be quiet."

Paige nodded and followed as Jerome started stealthily walking around the buildings. The Garden was set up so most of the buildings were on one side of the walkways. Jerome stuck to that side, since the opposite side was full of plants. Short plants, so they weren't too good for hiding. Paige was being pretty quiet, but in the silence, and to Jerome's trained ears, she was making a lot of noise. He refrained from silencing her, though. He was probably just too tense.

Jerome led Paige through the Garden, towards the main hall. If the Defenders were anywhere, they were probably there. Jerome kept moving towards the Garden, slowly and cautiously. If the Defenders were there, so were any guards the Destroyer left. Jerome and Paige were near the main hall. Jerome turned to Paige and said "Wait here. I'm going to go check out the area and make sure it's safe."

Paige nodded, and Jerome crept towards the building. He knew enough not to go near the front entrance; that was the most likely place to be guarded. However, there was a window near the top of the building. Jerome was going to climb the building. He would Flicker or use some other type of teleportation, but if there were any Adgressors in the building they would sense it. The building was badly damaged, but it was still standing, unlike a lot of other buildings. There were plenty of hand holds for Jerome to use. He grabbed the wall and began climbing. It was easy; the building was damaged enough that there was no difficulty in finding footing, but still sturdy enough that it didn't crumble or fall apart as Jerome was climbing.

He reached the top quickly and looked in the window. Inside he could see a large group of people. Defenders. So, they were all there. Jerome looked around and saw a couple of pale faced, black haired individuals standing by the door. Jerome kept looking and saw two more Adgressors. Were there really only four Adgressors guarding all of those Defenders? Jerome kept searching, but unless there were more where Jerome couldn't see, the only guards the Destroyer left were four Adgressors. Judging by the look of the Defenders and the way the Adgressors held themselves, Jerome doubted there were any more guards.

Jerome climbed back down the building. Paige was still there, exactly where Jerome had told her to stay. Jerome raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. "Almost, if not all, of the remaining Defenders are in there. I only saw four Adgressors guarding them, though," Jerome said.

"Okay," Paige said. "So, what do we do? Wait for the Adgressors to fall asleep?"

"No," Jerome replied. "We're going to get them out of there, now."

"What?"

"I'm going to go in there and blast the nearest Adgressor. Hopefully I'll catch him off guard," Jerome said.

Paige stared at him, mouth wide open. "That's your plan? Rush in blindly and hope you get one?"

"Yes."

"And you really think that's a good idea?"

"Why do you care? You've never had any issues with me rushing in before," Jerome said.

"That's because you were invincible before!" Paige said, voice raising.

Jerome hushed her. "We don't want them to hear us! And I'm still invincible."

"Yeah, but not against them! Not against the Adgressors. I don't want to lose you," Paige said.

Jerome sighed. "I'm not going to die," he said.

"Can you really promise that?"

Jerome was silent. "Well, can you?" Paige asked.

"...No," Jerome replied. "But what do you propose I do instead?"

"I don't know," Paige said. "Can't you just Orb them our or something?"

"No," Jerome said. "The Adgressors will just stop them from leaving, and probably kill some of them as examples."

Jerome and Paige were silent for a minute. "Could I go in there and somehow get them out?"

Jerome looked up, an idea forming in his head. "No, but they would sense the Orbing and come to investigate. If I Orbed out here, one of them will come and investigate. Then I can kill him, drawing the others out here and hopefully distract them long enough for you to get in there and convince the other Defenders to get out here and finish the other three off."

Paige thought for a moment. "No, I think I'll be Orbing and you stab the one who comes out."

"No, it's too risky," Jerome said.

"Oh, and I'm supposed to let you risk your life on a plan that will probably get you killed! No, I'm Orbing and you need to try to kill the one that comes out as quietly and subtly as possible," Paige argued.

"No, we're going with my plan," Jerome said.

"Look, either you can do this the easy way, or I can Orb right now, before you're ready to take one of them out," Paige said.

Jerome looked conflicted, eventually agreeing, albeit reluctantly. "Can your sword even kill those things?" Paige asked.

"I don't know. I think as long as I'm the one wielding it, and I stab in the chest or head, they'll die. I guess we'll find out," Jerome replied. Jerome hid near the door, out of sight from anyone coming from inside. Paige looked at him, and he nodded. Paige Orbed.

* * *

Inside, all of the Adgressors sensed the Orbing. "Hey," one of them said. "Did you guys feel that?"

"Yeah," another one replied. "Why don't you go check it out, Malorum?"

The Adgressor who was nearest the door sighed and walked outside. He stepped outside, turned to the left where the Orbing came from, and felt a sharp pain in his chest. He looked down and saw a sword blade sticking out of his chest. The blade withdrew and Malorum turned around to see a Defender standing there, holding the sword.

Malorum grunted and groaned in pain and fell over. He could feel the life flowing out of him from the wound in his chest. He was dying, and he knew enough to know that the Defender would be slightly stronger because of it. That was how they worked. An Adgressor gained power with every Defender he killed, though it didn't last very long. Defenders, likewise, gained power when the killed Adgressors. It was a survival mechanism. If one was good enough to kill another, then they'd gain a little more power, to give them a small advantage over any others. Mortus, the Adgressor leader, once bragged a twenty-four Defender streak before the power boost wore off. Malorum had almost no life left in him, and what little he did have was draining quickly. Malorum closed his eyes and let the last bits of life drain from him.

* * *

Jerome watched the Adgressor die. So, it worked well enough. Jerome could kill Adgressors with his sword. "Well, I did it. He's dead. Want to try again?" Jerome asked Paige.

Paige nodded. "Let's do it."

Paige and Jerome repeated the process. The second Adgressor was as easily killed as the first, but the third time they tried it both of the remaining Adgressors came out. Jerome managed to stab one, but the other spun around and telekinetically threw Jerome back. Jerome landed on his back but quickly stood up. The Adgressor saw the three dead Adgressor bodies and turned to Jerome, a look of fear on his face. "You killed all three of them?"

Jerome nodded. "Yes, and it wasn't that hard. I don't really get what the big deal is with you; you're really not that dangerous," Jerome said. The Adgressor snarled and shot pure energy at Jerome. Jerome countered the attack with a powerful blast of lightning. The two attacks collided, releasing a blast of light. Both Jerome and the Adgressor kept blasting their attacks at each other. The center of the blast stayed in the same spot. The Adgressor's eyes widened and both he and Jerome stopped their attacks.

"How was that possible? Electrokinesis is not as powerful as pure energy blasts, how could the attacks be equal?" the Adgressor said.

"Maybe you're just not as powerful as you think you are," Jerome said.

The Adgressor looked at the bodies again. "You killed all three of them. You must still have the power boost affecting you," he said.

"Come again?" Jerome asked.

The Adgressor growled. "Defenders and Adgressors gain temporary power boosts when they kill each other. It helps the better ones survive longer in wars."

"Well, then I guess I'd better take advantage of this new power before it wears off," Jerome said. Jerome blasted the Adgressor with lightning again. This time, the Adgressor was caught off guard and took the full impact of the blast. He screamed in pain for a few seconds before disintegrating.

Jerome looked at Paige and said "Now, let's go." He and Paige walked into the building. As soon as they entered they saw a group of Defenders. The males were all dressed in black t-shirts and black leggings. The females were all in dark blouses and black leggings.

One of them gasped and shouted "Jerome?"

Jerome looked at the crowd and said "Yes, it's me. I've returned, though it's a bit late. I'm here to get you out of here."

Another one said "We can't just leave. The Adgressors-"

"Were there more than four here?" Jerome asked.

"No, but-"

"And I just killed those four, so may I say it's safe to assume there are no more here?"

"Yes, but-"

"Then I don't see why you can't just leave," Jerome said.

"The Destroyer told us that if we tried to leave, then he'd destroy us," the Defender said.

"And is He here to stop you?" Jerome asked.

"No," the Defender admitted.

"So, I don't see what the problem is," Jerome said.

"We have no Council to guide us," another Defender said.

"Forget the Council!" Paige said. "Jerome came here on his own, fought those Adgressors without the Council telling him what to do, and he risked his life without being told to do it by some Council. Why can't you just listen to him and leave?"

"You're a witch, we cannot expect you to understand," the Defender said.

"You're right, I don't understand. Explain it to me," Paige said.

"We are led by the Council; if there's no Council, we have no leaders. It's simple," the Defender said.

"I get that there's no Council, but do you honestly need leaders to save your own hides?" Jerome said. "I, for one, don't. And I am going to fight the Destroyer, and the Adgressors, until either they're gone, or I am. Will you help me take back our home, restore balance to the Grand Design, and save our people? Or are you going to just lie down and die like worms? Where is your pride? Where is your motivation to fight back? We are the ultimate Defenders of the Grand Design, are we going to just lie down and die when the Grand Design is at stake? Or are we going to rise up and show the Destroyer and the Adgressors why we were made to protect the Grand Design?"

The crowd began cheering loudly. "We will fight!" they chanted.

"Then come with me! We are a powerful people, and when we get motivated we can lock the Adgressors back into Claustrum, and we can seal the Destroyer away again, as we have done before!" The crowd cheered again. Jerome walked to a wall that was relatively intact and pulled out the wand Benjamin had given him. He drew a triangle on the wall, and when the final point was made the triangle became a portal.

"Defenders, through here is safety. Benjamin and Daniel have prepared a hidden location that the Destroyer can't find. Head through," Jerome said. One by one the Defenders started walking through the portal.

Paige stood by Jerome's side. "A triangle?" she asked.

Jerome grunted. "They're easy shapes to draw, and they work just fine."

"You couldn't have drawn a door or a semicircle?"

"I could have. I chose not to," Jerome said.

Paige smirked. "Alright then. Suit yourself."

The last Defender walked through the portal. Jerome turned to Paige and said "Your turn."

"No, I'm staying with you, remember?"

"I have to be on this side to break the portal. You need to go through, now," Jerome said.

Paige shook her head. "I'm not leaving you behind."

"Paige, I need you to make sure the other Defenders made it alright, and I need you to keep them under control until either I or Benjamin or Daniel get there," Jerome said.

"Alright, but you need to get there as soon as possible. Don't waste any time," Paige said.

"Agreed. Go," Jerome said. Paige walked towards the portal and, with a brief glance back, walked into the portal, disappearing. Jerome was about to break the wand over his knee when he heard a voice come from behind him.

"Well, well, well. You've killed four Adgressors today. I suppose I should be impressed," the voice said. Jerome turned around and saw an Adgressor with pure black hair and extremely pale skin. There was something different about that Adgressor, something that made him seem more powerful than the others.

"Who are you?" Jerome asked.

"I am know as Mortus," the Adgressor, Mortus, said.

"Mortus. Another Adgressor. I've killed five of your kind, I can kill another."

Mortus chuckled darkly. "I'm afraid I'm no ordinary Adgressor, boy. I am one of the oldest Adgressors to live. In fact, I was the first Adgressor to be created."

"You're their leader." It was more of a statement than a question, but Mortus nodded anyway.

"Yes, and you are just a common Defender. A Linear, as I believe your people call it."

"A common Defender who killed five of your people."

Mortus chuckled again. "They were young. All of them. I've killed thousands upon thousands of your kind over my lifetime."

Jerome said nothing. "Now, how about you and I dance the dance that our peoples have danced for so many years?" Mortus held up a hand and shot a beam of dark energy from it. Jerome rolled out of the way and threw some energy balls at Mortus.

Mortus laughed as he swatted them aside. Mortus conjured a ball of dark energy in his hand and threw it at Jerome. Jerome swung his sword at it. The ball bounced back towards Mortus. Mortus raised an eyebrow and swatted the ball back. The Adgressor and Defender continued this for a few minutes. Jerome had a sword, and had more time to hit the ball. Mortus, however, only had an arm, and eventually the ball hit Mortus. Jerome took tis opportunity to break the wand over his knee. Jerome then blasted Mortus with lightning. The blast hit Mortus, but it hit with enough impact to knock Mortus to the ground, preventing Jerome from killing him.

Mortus quickly leapt up on his feet and blasted Jerome with some more dark energy. Jerome Shimmered out of the way and hid behind some rubble.

Mortus looked around, waiting for Jerome to come back out. Jerome did, and blasted him with lightning. Mortus responded by blasting the Defender with some of his dark energy. The two attacks collided and exploded. The force of the explosion almost caused Mortus to lose his footing, but he remained standing. Jerome came running through the smoke, throwing energy balls at Mortus. Mortus swatted those aside and blasted Jerome with dark energy. That time, the blast it Jerome. Jerome howled in pain and disappeared. Mortus swore in frustration. The way Jerome disappeared was like an astral projection, not a true Defender death! Somehow, that Defender must have astral projected a copy of himself and Flickered or Flashed away while Mortus was distracted with the copy! It was infuriating, but it was brilliant. Mortus had to give the Defender credit; he was crafty.

Jerome had, in fact, used his bracelet to create an astral clone of himself and Flickered away while the astral clone was fighting Mortus. Jerome Flickered to the manor, needing rest before trying anything else. That particular Adgressor, Mortus, was powerful, and fighting him was exhausting for Jerome. He needed to rest, and he had to hope that somehow he'd be ready to kill Mortus when the time came for them to once again do battle. Mortus was powerful, Jerome knew that, but next time they fought, Jerome was going to be ready. He wasn't going to lose; losing wasn't an option. The Destroyer had to be stopped, and Jerome was beginning to think he may have an idea of how his father had beaten the Destroyer the last time. He couldn't afford to die by the hands of an Adgressor, not when he might be getting close to learning how to beat the Destroyer.

Author's Note:

Well, this was a longer chapter. Action packed, entirely Jerome and Paige. So, how did I do? Was this a good chapter or did it suck? And do you want me to show more of what other characters are doing, like Excisio, Electus, and Cole, or would you rather I focus more on the sisters and Jerome for the next couple of chapters? Please, let me know.


	28. Chapter 28

Huh, it seems more time has passed since I last updated than I had intended. Sorry about that.

Chapter 28:

Electus was after Aevus, the Ancient who had dominion over time. Aevus' realm was difficult to find; Aevus had hidden it well. But Electus was the most powerful of all Ancients, and Aevus couldn't hide forever. Eventually, Electus found him and entered his clockwork realm. Aevus' realm was full of clocks and watches floating in space. Some were large, others small, and not one clock bore the same time as another. Ahead Electus saw an old man with a long white beard and white hair. Even as Electus watched the man, however, his age changed. He seemed to grow older and older until, suddenly, he took the form of a newborn infant. Electus approached him and said "Aevus."

The Ancient, a child then, said "Hello, brother. It has been a long time, hasn't it? Or has it merely been a short time in your world?"

Electus rolled his eyes. "Enough with your games, Aevus. You command time, how much has passed is entirely up to you."

Aevus clicked his tongue. "Well, aren't we impatient? You act as if you have somewhere to be."

"I do. Your barrier around Medeis. I want you to tear it down," Electus said.

"Well, quick and to the point, aren't we? You want me to free her? Why would I do that?"

"Surely you've realized by now that Excisio is free? And he won't stop until he's destroyed the Grand Design. He's already made it into Claustrum; I have my orb as proof." Electus held out his orb to show Aevus.

Aevus clicked his tongue again. "Well, Excisio and the Adgressors, both free. Perhaps the time has come for the Ancients to return to the world."

"You know as well as I do that none of us have a choice in the matter. We cannot interfere in each others' spheres of influence, nor can we interfere directly with each other."

"And you think Medeis can?" Aevus looked incredulous, and his face was that of a middle-aged man.

"She was sealed before that law was passed. If any of us can stop the Destroyer, it's her."

"And you don't just want her back? This isn't a love-driven attempt to regain the one you lost?"

Electus threw his hands up in the air, exasperated. "Of course I want her back! But this is bigger than just me! We are responsible for protecting the Grand Design, how can we do that if Excisio destroys it? What does that leave us with?"

"I'll think about it," Aevus said.

Electus exploded. "You'll think about it? That's it? You are the Ancient who has total dominion over time, how could you possibly need any to think? You have made greater decisions than this at a moment's notice, why is this any different?"

Aevus was silent. "Very well. The time barrier has been broken. All that remains is Aedifex's part. Good luck, brother."

"Thank you." Electus vanished.

* * *

The Sword of the Destroyer was a powerful weapon, but in Excisio's hands it was almost useless. He had the power to destroy things just as well as the sword. However, in the hands of an Adgressor the sword's usefulness increased tenfold. Two beings who could destroy almost anything. Power like that would surely allow Excisio to destroy the Grand Design. "Mortus!" Excisio called.

Mortus Flickered in front of Excisio. "Yes?" he asked.

"Where are the Defenders?"

Mortus cringed. "They got out of the Garden."

Excisio was silent. The silence was almost tangible, and it didn't bode well. "How?"

"The Defender, Jerome, he somehow inspired them to rise up and somehow managed to get them out. He killed the four Adgressors there."

"And you didn't stop him?" The cold tone in Excisio's voice cut through Mortus like a knife. Mortus didn't want to admit that a Defender had gotten the best of him, but what choice did he have?

"I tried, however, all the Defenders had left before I arrived. Jerome was very subtle about killing the others, and he managed to motivate the Defenders faster than I had anticipated." Mortus braced himself, waiting for the punishment.

It never came. "Then we will have to hasten our plan. The longer they have to ready themselves for battle, the harder it will be to overcome them."

"My people have fought Defenders many times. The ones around now are complacent and weak. My people will have no issues taking them down."

"Perhaps, but Jerome did manage to kill four of your people today, and get an entire population of people out from right under your nose. Don't underestimate him again."

Mortus bowed and Flickered away.

Mortus went to Cole. Cole was in the center of a cavern, talking to Steve. "There are no remaining demons who question my leadership?" Cole asked.

"No, my lord," Steve replied.

"Excellent," Cole said. Cole was ready. The demons were under his complete and utter command. He, as he was told to, was having the demons act normally. He didn't want anyone thinking he was in charge of the Underworld, at least, not yet.

Cole saw Mortus Flicker behind Steve. "Cole," he said.

Steve jumped and turned around. Steve saw the serious look in Mortus' face, and felt the power Mortus possessed, bowed to Cole, and Shimmered away.

Cole sighed. "Yes?"

"It's time to begin the assault," Mortus said.

"Already?" Cole asked. "I've been in unchallenged for roughly two minutes, and already you want me to begin the attack?"

"Things have changed. Jerome has somehow gotten the other Defenders out of the Garden and is probably arming them for war even as we speak. We need to accelerate our plans if we are to succeed."

Cole sighed. "You let him get away?"

"I did not let him get away. He killed the guards and got them out before I got there."

Cole shook his head. "Whatever. I'll get the demons ready."

Mortus nodded. "Good. Send them after every source of good available. This should keep them distracted long enough for us to take over." Mortus Flickered away.

Cole called for Steve. Steve Shimmered in front of Cole. "Send word throughout the Underworld. All demonic leaders are to gather here, immediately." Steve bowed and Shimmered away. Cole sighed. The final battle had begun.

Author's Note:

Sorry for the wait, and the short chapter. I'm finally done with school, so hopefully I'll have more time to write. I'm also working on a story for noveljoy, called Wrath of the Daemon King. If anyone wants to check it out and PM me some feedback, I'd really appreciate it. So, feel free to leave a review telling me how awesome or awful this chapter was.


	29. Chapter 29

Well, here's the next chapter. This story is nearing its end.

Chapter 29:

"What is up with all these demons all of a sudden?" Phoebe asked as she threw a vanquishing potion on yet another demon. "That one's, what, the fifth one today?"

A sound of a demon screaming in pain came from the kitchen. Piper walked in and said "Sixth."

Piper and Phoebe heard a sound come from upstairs. "How much do you want to bet that's number seven?" Piper asked. Phoebe didn't respond and walked upstairs. Piper followed.

Upstairs they saw Chris fighting a demon. Chris flung his hand towards the demon and an athame went flying into it. The athame was sitting on a dresser when Chris flung his hand. He was nowhere near it.

The demon burst into flames just as Piper shouted "What was that?"

Chris jumped and spun around. "Piper! Phoebe! That was a demon."

Piper rolled her eyes. "I saw that that was a demon, what was with the athame? Did you move it without touching it?"

"No, you must have imagined it," Chris said.

"Nice try," Phoebe said. "But I'm an empath, remember? I can feel you lying. You're hiding something, I just don't know what."

Chris sighed. "Alright, alright, fine. I'm half witch and half Whitelighter, just like Paige."

"Why would you hide that from us?" Phoebe asked.

"Would you be more likely to trust a Whitelighter or a hybrid? Whitelighters are inherently good; can the same be said of Whitelighter-witches?" Chris asked.

"Good point," Piper said. "But that doesn't mean you can lie to us."

Chris opened his mouth to say something when a loud crash came from downstairs, cutting him off. "Let's talk about this another time. Right now we're being attacked by waves of demons."

Piper nodded and Phoebe said "Agreed." The three of them all ran downstairs to investigate the crash.

The crash turned out to be Melinda, fighting off a demon. The demon was throwing energy balls at Melinda. Melinda shouted "Energy ball!" and redirected it back at the demon. The energy ball disappeared and reappeared, shooting towards the demon, in a flurry of Orbs. The demon exploded in flames.

"Is she half Whitelighter, too?" Piper shouted.

Chris winced. Melinda jumped and spun around, looking guilty. "Yes," Chris confessed.

"Is there anything else you haven't told us?" Piper snapped.

Chris was spared from answering by the sound of lightning from upstairs. Piper and Phoebe ran upstairs to check, leaving Chris and Melinda behind. "They found out?" Melinda asked.

Chris nodded. "They caught me using telekinesis to vanquish a demon."

"And then I used telekinetic Orbing to do the same," Melinda said.

"Yep. We're busted, but they don't need to know we're brother and sister, or that we're Piper's children," Chris said.

Melinda sighed. "You know I don't like lying to them."

"I know, Mel, but we have to. Otherwise, we won't be able to save Wyatt," Chris said.

"I know," Melinda said.

* * *

Piper and Phoebe ran upstairs to see Jerome, blasting a demon with lightning. The demon exploded in a burst of flame. "Jerome? What are you doing back?" Piper asked.

"And where's Paige?" Phoebe added.

"We managed to get the other Defenders out of the Garden. Benjamin and Daniel set up a hidden place to hide them from the Destroyer. With the Adgressors free, we're going to need every single fighter we have," Jerome said.

"And you took Paige?" Piper asked.

"Yeah," Jerome said. "What did you think we were doing?"

"I don't know, training?" Piper asked.

Jerome shook his head. "If it helps, Paige didn't get hurt. She's with the Defenders, staying there until either Benjamin or Daniel gets there."

"But you took her with you!" Phoebe nearly shouted.

"Well, it was more along the lines of she found out and wouldn't let me leave her. I didn't want her to come," Jerome said.

Piper and Phoebe visibly calmed down. "Yeah, she gets like that a lot. Sorry, we've been attacked by demons all morning, so we're a bit on edge," Piper said.

"We know you don't want to hurt her," Phoebe said.

"All morning?" Jerome asked.

"Pretty much. It's been nearly nonstop demon after demon," Piper said.

Jerome frowned. "Demons don't usually attack en masse like that. I wonder if somehow the Adgressors are behind this."

Phoebe frowned. "What would the Adgressors want with demons?"

"I don't know," Jerome replied. "But the demon I fought said 'Why did I get the invincible one?' before I vanquished him."

"Maybe Cole had something to do with this. He is a demon, and I imagine the Destroyer could find a way to use demons. They destroy stuff," Phoebe said.

Jerome heard the sound of Orbing and turned around. Chris was standing behind him. "The Elders just told me that demons are attacking everywhere. It's like they all decided to attack every source of good available, and all at once. Some have even managed to go after some Elders that are down here."

"What do the Elders think is going on?" Phoebe asked.

"They don't know what to think. They suspect someone's taken over the Underworld again, because there is no way the demons all decided to work together and plan an attack this massive without a powerful leader," Chris said.

"Wait a minute," Jerome said. "I'll bet that Cole is the new leader of the Underworld. I imagine the Adgressors, or maybe even the Destroyer himself, got Cole to take over the Underworld so he could use the demons to wipe out every available source of good. That would mess up the balance so badly that the Grand Design would be vulnerable to the Destroyer."

"Then we need to stop him," Piper said. "Even if it means completely vanquishing all the demons."

Jerome shook his head. "No, you can't risk getting rid of all evil. That would mess up the balance just as badly as killing all the good. We need to find a way to just vanquish Cole, so the rest of the demons stop attacking."

"Do you think you can vanquish him?" Phoebe asked.

Jerome paused, then nodded. "Yes, I think I can. He's still a demon, regardless of how powerful he is."

* * *

The time had come. Excisio's plan was finally taking place. The Defenders may have escaped, but there was no way they would be able to prepare themselves for the Adgressors in what little time they had. "Mortus!" Excisio called.

Mortus Flickered in front of Excisio. "Yes?" he asked, careful not to let any irritation slip into his voice.

"The time has come. The Defenders will come out if enough people are slaughtered. Find somewhere to lay waste to, and destroy anyone and everyone who crosses your path. The Defenders will try to stop you, and then your people can have their revenge."

"Our revenge is planned for Electus. He locked us down there, not the Defenders. We want a guarantee that Electus will be delivered to us after we do what you want," Mortus said.

Excisio growled. "Fine, you have my word. After I achieve my goals, you may have any of the other Ancients you want, including Electus."

Mortus nodded. "Good. My people will leave at once." Mortus Shimmered away. A few minutes later Excisio felt a burst of energy as the entire population of Adgressors all Shimmered at once. Excisio allowed himself a small grin. There was no one who could stop him.

* * *

Aedifex's realm was easy to find. It was the largest and had the most amount of junk in it. Evidently, the Creator cannot stop creating just as the Destroyer cannot stop Destroying. Aedifex had the appearance of a majestic, winged being. He glowed in a holy white aura, and had golden eyes. His wings were white as snow and each was as long as a bus. As Electus entered, Aedifex looked at him. "Brother, what brings you here?"

"Have you heard of your counterpart's release?" Electus asked.

Aedifex grunted. "So, He's out. I suppose it was only a matter of time before His eventual release. What does that matter to me?"

"He's also allied himself with the leader of the Underworld and the Adgressors."

Aedifex was silent for a moment. "It seems that the world is in for quite a shock," he eventually said.

"It will be completely destroyed if we don't do something to stop Excisio," Electus said.

"And how, exactly, do you suppose we do that? Since you seem to have forgotten, Ancients cannot interfere with other Ancients," Aedifex said.

"No, we can't interfere with other Ancients. There is one Ancient who was never a part of that magic," Electus said.

Aedifex was silent. "Surely you know how dangerous releasing her could be?"

"No less dangerous that letting Excisio succeed."

"She'd be furious and may turn on us for sealing her away," Aedifex said.

"And you'd deserve it. Then she'd stop Excisio. She loves the Grand Design and its people far too much to let them be destroyed," Electus replied.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am."

"Then so be it. Whatever it takes to lock the other one back up. I have only one condition," Aedifex said.

"And what is that? Clean your realm for you?" Electus asked.

Aedifex looked confused. "Why would I ask that when I can create people to do that for me? No, I want you to make Excisio," Aedifex spat His name out like it was venom "suffer. Everything I've ever created, He destroys. He's a scourge upon the Grand Design and must suffer His fate."

"I will personally make sure He suffers, if that is what it takes to get you to help," Electus said.

"Then so be it. My barrier around Medeis is now gone. You may now approach her and set her free, though her powers remain sealed in the three obelisks," Aedifex said.

"I know," Electus said. "But we'll figure something out. We always do."

Author's Note:

Writing this stuff leading up to the climax is kind of hard. But I have things with which to utilize and, hopefully, can get this story written. Please, leave me a review telling me how incredibly awesome and epic my writing is or how truly horrible and awful it is.


	30. Chapter 30

Next up! Here's the next chapter for you wonderful reader people to enjoy. Just for the record, some of this chapter was written on an airplane, so if the first bit seems bad, it's because airplanes aren't optimized for typing Charmed stories.

Chapter 30:

Jerome was preparing himself to attack Cole. If he expected to win the fight, he needed to be ready. Jerome carried a few potions, ones that, according to Paige, had enough power to blow up the entire west coast. Just as Jerome was about to go to the Underworld, Benjamin and Daniel Flickered in. "Jerome, we need your help," Benjamin said.

"The Adgressors have begun attacking Spain," Daniel said.

Jerome sighed. "Can't you guys hold them off long enough for me to vanquish Cole? He's using demons to do the Destroyer's bidding."

Daniel shook his head. "You are the only one of us to have fought, yet alone slain, an Adgressor. We need you, now. Please, Jerome."

Jerome paused for a moment. "Are you leaving from the Sanctuary?" he asked, using the name Daniel used to refer to the place he and Benjamin had set up for the other Defenders.

Daniel nodded. "Yes, we are going to prepare the other Defenders then head out to meet the Adgressors on the battlefield."

"Just give me enough time to explain to the sisters what I'm doing and that they need to try to vanquish Cole," Jerome said.

Benjamin nodded. "Of course. We won't leave until you arrive at the Sanctuary."

Jerome Flickered upstairs to the attic, where Paige and Phoebe were working on vanquishing potions for the hordes of demons that kept attacking them. Their backs were turned to Jerome when he entered. He cleared his throat to get their attention. The two sisters turned their heads towards him. "The Adgressors have started attacking Spain. I'm needed in the fight against them," Jerome said.

"What about Cole? Demons are attacking everywhere, and the Elders are sending everyone they can to stop them," Phoebe said.

"You'll have to do it. You two and Piper. Speaking of Piper, where is she?" Jerome asked.

"With Chris and Melinda, trying to interrogate as much out of them as she can," Paige replied.

"Ah," Jerome said. He wasn't too surprised; he probably would be trying to get the truth out of them, too, if he were in her position.

"Wait, so what's this about us taking on Cole, who, I might add, is as powerful as you?" Phoebe asked.

"Not quite. He's still a demon. He can be vanquished just like any other demon. Well, like any other insanely powerful demon," Jerome amended.

Jerome took out his potions and set them down on a nearby table. "Here, take these. You said so yourself, Paige, that these potions could destroy the west coast. I'm sure with these and the Power of Three you'll find a way to beat him."

"Alright, just, please don't die out there. Don't let any Adgressors kill you," Paige said nervously.

"That goes double for you," Jerome said. The statement was directed at both sisters. Jerome Flickered to the Sanctuary.

He appeared behind Benjamin and Daniel, who were standing on front of everyone else. Both of them turned around when Jerome Flickered. "And now we have Jerome, Slayer of the Adgressors! Jerome has killed five Adgressors already, with him we can, and we will, show the Adgressors why we're always the ones who succeed in the end and they are always the ones to fail! This world does not belong to them, and they shall be extinguished from it!" Benjamin said. The crowd cheered. It seemed that Jerome had missed a very motivating speech. "Now, we go to fight! Follow us to Spain and show these Adgressors that this world does not belong to them!" Benjamin and Daniel Flickered away, and shortly after the rest of the Defenders followed.

Jerome Flickered to where Benjamin and Daniel had gone, and saw a field of destruction and desolation in front of him. He turned to Daniel and asked "Where are we?"

Daniel turned to him, a sad look in his eyes. "This was once the city of Madrid. The Adgressors have reduced it to rubble and murdered everyone in the city."

Jerome felt a flare of rage build inside of him. They destroyed an entire city, full of innocent people. Those mortals had done nothing to them, they weren't even a part of the magical community, and yet the Adgressors slaughtered each and every one of them. Jerome growled. He sensed a large amount of power surge behind him. Jerome turned around and saw Mortus. Jerome snarled at him. "Mortus, for this you will pay!" Jerome roared.

Mortus looked at him curiously. "It was Mulciber who burned this city to the ground, not I. I shared no hand in his perversities."

"And all the people in the city?" Jerome demanded.

Mortus made a feral grin. "They were hunted like animals and slaughtered by my people. It was great sport."

Jerome roared and blasted Mortus with lightning. Mortus waved his hand and swatted the blast aside, like it was just a butterfly that got too close. Daniel shot a blast of raw energy at Mortus. Mortus jumped, and was hit by a blast of ice from Benjamin. Mortus fell to the ground, his chest frozen in a chunk of ice. He breathed deeply, shattering the ice. Jerome glared at Mortus, nearly oblivious to the fact that the other Defenders had engaged the other Adgressors and the two peoples were locked in a massive battle. Had Jerome been paying closer attention, he would have seen all the flashes and blasts from the battlefield and noticed how many were falling. Jerome also would have noticed how badly his people were fairing against the much more experienced Adgressors. However, as it was, Jerome was too focused on Mortus.

Mortus stood up and said "Three against one? That's hardly fair. Mulciber! Fulmen! Gelus!" The three Adgressors came at Mortus' call. "There, three on three. That's fair. Come find me if you survive." Mortus Flickered away, leaving Jerome, Benjamin, and Daniel alone with the three Adgressors.

"Daniel, take Gelus. Benjamin, Fulmen. Mulciber's mine." Jerome snarled and leapt towards Mulciber, sword raised. Jerome heard Benjamin and Daniel shout, but he ignored them. He briefly saw flashes of light from both sides, probably Benjamin and Daniel attacking the other two Adgressors. Jerome didn't care. All he cared about was destroying Mulciber and making him suffer for what he did to the city.

Mulciber sidestepped to get out of the way of Jerome. Jerome landed and swung his sword sideways at Mulciber. The blade cut Mulciber's side. Mulciber, shocked, leapt out of the way. Jerome snarled and blasted Mulciber with lightning. The blast hit Mulciber right in the chest, knocking him on his back. Jerome snarled and growled "Get up!"

Mulciber stood up and said "I'm not used to such ferocity from your people."

"You'd better get used to it! I want to see the frustration in your eyes as you try to kill me, and I want to see the look of pure shock and horror on your face as you die!"

Mulciber just looked stunned. Jerome snarled and threw an energy ball at Mulciber. Mulciber quickly threw a fireball at it. The two attack collided and exploded, destroying parts of Jerome. Jerome quickly regenerated. Jerome and Mulciber continued fighting, fire and lightning clashing, leaving large, bright explosions on the battlefield.

* * *

"Wait, we're supposed to do what?" Piper exclaimed. Paige and Phoebe had just told Piper what Jerome had told them.

"Yeah, we're supposed to vanquish Cole," Phoebe said.

"How?" Piper asked.

"We vanquished the Source, right? And the Titans, and the other Cole," Paige said. "And I'm not sure we have to vanquish him, anyway."

"What? Why not?" Piper asked.

"We might be able to reason with him. Make him realize that he's leading the world to complete destruction," Paige replied.

"That might work," Phoebe said. "He may be half demon, but he's also half witch. Half Charmed witch."

Piper sighed. "Alright. We'll try it. But if he won't listen, we won't have a choice but to try to vanquish him. What have you two prepared?"

"We have potions with enough power to destroy the entire east coast," Paige said.

"And I've written a Power of Three spell that might work," Phoebe said.

"Alright, let's go," Piper said.

"Wait, now?" Phoebe asked.

"Don't you think we're rushing this a bit?" Paige asked.

Piper shook her head. "We're not going to be any more ready if we wait than we are now, and personally I'm sick of all the demon attacks. It's now or never."

"How do we know where to find him?" Phoebe asked.

"We get him to come to us. We capture the next demon that attacks and get him to deliver a message to Cole," Piper said.

The next demon came in about two minutes. He threw a fireball at Paige, who Orbed out of the way. Phoebe kicked the demon in the gut, knocking him to the ground. He got up, only to be frozen from the neck down by Piper. The demon looked around and asked "What did you do to me?"

"Quiet," Piper said. "Now, I have a message for you. Tell your leader, Cole, that the Charmed Ones want to see him. And if he knows what's good for him, he'll get his butt over here as quickly as possible. Got it?" The demon nodded. "Then go!" She unfroze him, and he Shimmered away.

"How long do you think it's going to take for Cole to get here?" Paige asked.

A loud crash came from downstairs. "That might be him now," Piper said.

The three sisters went downstairs to investigate the noise. As Piper predicted, it was Cole. Cole looked at the three sisters and impatiently said "What?"

"Are you the one who's been sending demons after us?" Phoebe asked.

"Yes," Cole said. "Well, not just you. I've declared war against every single force of good out there. You included."

"Why?" Paige asked.

Cole shrugged. "The Destroyer told me to. Something about creating a big enough distraction that no magical beings of the Grand Design will interfere."

"And you just going to do that? He's going to destroy everything! This world, us, you, nothing will be able to escape Him!" Phoebe shouted.

Cole actually looked somewhat troubled. "He promised me freedom," Cole said.

"And do you honestly think He's going to give it to you?" Paige asked. "Think! He's the Destroyer! All He does is destroy, why should destroying a promise be any different?"

"Shut up!" Cole snapped. "I work for Him, I don't have a choice but to do what He says!"

"That's not true, and you know it," Piper said. "All of us have free will. We make our own choices, and you have the choice to stop all of this."

Cole looked conflicted. "Please, Cole. If you help us, you could be exonerated, and then you would truly be free," Paige said.

"Or you could keep working with the Destroyer and never have a real shot at freedom," Piper said. "Your choice."

"If I don't do this, He'll kill me," Cole said, nearly whispering.

"If you do, we'll vanquish you," Piper said.

"Cole, the Destroyer can't kill anyone with free will," Paige said. "It's really complicated, but He can't."

"I saw Him kill Defenders," Cole said.

"They don't have free will. You do," Phoebe said.

Cole was clearing struggling. "Besides, if you help us, you'd have a family again," Phoebe added.

Cole looked up, surprised. "After all I've done, you'd accept me into the family?"

"Cole, you're not evil anymore. I thought, because of that tonic, that you were nothing but pure evil. I can clearly see that you're not," Phebe said.

"Like I said, everyone has a choice. You can choose right now to do the right thing, and we'll welcome you into the family," Piper said.

Cole made a decision. "Steve!" he shouted.

A demon Shimmered in front of Cole, kneeling. "Yes, my lord?"

"Spread word to all the demons. Stop attacking the forces of good and report back to the Underworld. Have all the major demonic leaders report to me in my chambers," Cole said.

Steve squirmed uncomfortably. "Sir, I'm afraid I can't."

"What do you mean, you can't?" Cole asked dangerously.

"Well, uh, sir, you're no longer the Source of All Evil. You never finished the ceremony, saying it was unnecessary since no demon would dare stand to you," Steve said. "So, while you were away, someone stepped in and declared himself the Source. He showed us powers that are as powerful as yours, and he refused to listen when we told him we had a leader. He took the vows and performed the ceremony."

"Who is he?" Cole demanded.

"He called himself Paul."

* * *

Electus saw her. A woman who looked no older than twenty two, chained and unconscious. She had beautiful, long dark hair that flowed down her back like a cascading waterfall. She wore a simple black blouse that was unbuttoned at the top. She had dark pants and no shoes. Medeis. The barriers were all down, and all Electus had to do was release the shackles. He walked up to her and lightly touched her face, re-memorizing every detail of her beautiful face. Her eyelids fluttered and snapped open, revealing her beautiful blue eyes. "Electus? Is that you?"

Electus smiled and whispered "Medeis." He kissed her.

Eventually, the two broke the contact. "Electus, how did you find me?" Medeis asked.

"Didn't I once tell you that I would always find you?" Electus replied. Medeis smiled. She tried to reach towards Electus, but was stopped by her chains.

She shook them, testing their strength. "Please," Electus said. "Allow me." He grabbed the shackles around Medeis' wrists and said "Let the shackles be released!" The shackles shattered in his hands, freeing Medeis.

Medeis smiled and asked "Any reason you decided to shout that?"

Electus grinned and shrugged. "I thought it would sound cool." Medeis laughed and kissed Electus again.

When they broke apart, Medeis asked "How did you convince the others to take down their barriers?"

"Excisio got out-"

"He was imprisoned, too?"

Electus looked at Medeis and said "Sorry, I'd forgotten how long you've been locked up. Yes, Excisio went a bit crazy and wanted to destroy everything, including the Grand Architect. So, He was locked up and now He's out. After He was locked up the first time, the Grand Architect removed our abilities to affect each other and each other's spheres of influence. Since all that happened a while after you were imprisoned, I told the others that you could still stop Excisio, since you were never a part of the vow that keeps us from affecting each other."

Medeis looked down. "Um, Electus, I don't have any powers. They were taken from me. I don't know what happened to them."

"I know. I also know what happened to them. I'm going to help you get them back," Electus said. He grabbed Medeis and the two of them disappeared.

* * *

Excisio was watching, watching as the Adgressors spread death and destruction across the world. The Defenders had stepped in to try to stop the Adgressors. It didn't matter whether they succeeded or not. Excisio knew that, sooner or later, the Adgressors would have the imbalance that they desired, and then they would turn on the Destroyer. Not even the Adgressors wanted total annihilation. The battle between the two sides would result in the complete and utter destruction of one and the vast weakening of the other. That, added to the demon attacks that were thinning out the forces of both good and evil meant that, when everything was done, Excisio would have little opposition once He started his march of destruction. Getting the humans to submit themselves to Him would be easy; all He would have to do would be to destroy a few buildings, obliterate a couple of mountains, and efface some other natural features. The mortals, in awe and fear of His power, would freely submit themselves to Him, giving up their free will. It had happened before, at Atlantis, and it would happen again. Paul Flickered in front of Excisio, interrupting His thoughts. "What?" Excisio demanded.

"I don't think Cole is going to go through with the plan. I think Jerome and his pet witches have gotten to him," Paul said.

"What makes you think that?" Excisio asked impatiently.

"I was watching him, in case he needed backup, and he seems to be faltering. He's hesitated far too many times when demonic leaders asked about attacking an obvious hot spot for witches and he told the demons that they were to keep the mortal casualties to a minimum."

"And you point would be...?"

"He's going soft. He's about to stop the attack. He's already called several demons back to the Underworld, using the excuse that he needs them to 'hold down the fort' and to 'protect the home front,'" Paul said.

"Then go take his place. He never officially became the Source of All Evil, go take his place and continue the attack yourself," Excisio replied.

Paul bowed. "Yes sir," he said. He then Flickered away.

Excisio sighed. It didn't matter if Cole turned traitor or not; Paul would fill in, as long as he had a chance at killing Jerome. There was no one who could stop the Destroyer.

Author's Note:

Woo! That's like, what, four cliffhangers in one chapter? I think that might be a record. Although, the last one was a pretty poor cliffhanger... Oh well, it's still a cliffhanger. This was a very fun chapter to write. Medeis is finally free, the Adgressors and the Defenders are finally confronting each other, and Cole turned to the Charmed Ones' side, leaving Paul room to fill in. These next few chapters are going to be split up like this one, but eventually all the parts are going to reach the same point, and then the chapters will be more continuous rather than scattered like they are now. So, please leave me a review letting me know how amazing and/or awful this story is. I still want feedback, even this late into the story.


	31. Chapter 31

Next chapter! Sorry it's taking me longer to write these, but I'm on vacation, so yeah.

Chapter 31:

Mulciber shot a powerful stream of fire at Jerome. Jerome countered with a blast of his own lightning. The two attacks combined and exploded, destroying parts of Jerome. Jerome quickly regenerated, but not before Mulciber noticed. His eyes widened. "You don't even have all of your powers? Are you even a Defender?"

Jerome snarled. "I am a Defender, and no, most of my powers are sealed, beyond my reach."

Mulciber's eyes widened even more. "How can you fight like that with such limited power? What manner of beast are you?"

Jerome didn't respond and instead leapt at Mulciber, sword raised. Mulciber threw a fireball at Jerome, but Jerome deflected the attack with his sword. Jerome landed in front of Mulciber and swung his sword. Mulciber leapt back to avoid the blade, but was still nicked by the blade. Jerome stabbed Mulciber, piercing his stomach. Mulciber gasped and coughed up blood, but still managed to pull himself off of the sword. Mulciber put his hand to the hole in his stomach and took it away. It was coated in a thick layer of blood. Mulciber turned to Jerome, a look of both shock and terror in his eyes. For the first time in his entire life, Mulciber thought he was about to die.

Jerome threw an energy ball at Mulciber, followed by another, and another, and another. Jerome kept throwing energy balls at Mulciber. Mulciber kept deflecting them, but he couldn't keep up with his injury. Eventually Mulciber got hit by one of Jerome's energy balls, then another, and another. Mulciber eventually collapsed on the ground, panting heavily. Jerome stopped his attacks. "You fight like no Defender I have ever met," Mulciber said. "All I wanted was to burn this world to the ground, nothing more. I don't even care about the people; I just wanted to see the land burn. The survival or death of the people meant nothing to me."

Jerome snarled. "And now, because of your desire to burn, you will die!" Jerome blasted Mulciber with all the lightning he could. Mulciber screamed in pain and disintegrated. Jerome turned towards Daniel and Gelus, where Daniel was losing the battle. His arm was encased in ice, and Gelus kept blasting him with more and more ice. Jerome threw an energy ball at her, hitting her and knocking her to the ground. She quickly stood up and looked at Jerome. She looked around, probably for Mulciber, and shouted "Mulciber! Get out here and take care of your Defender!"

Jerome shook his head. "Mulciber's dead. And now, you're next." Gelus looked shocked.

"You? You killed Mulciber?" Jerome nodded his head. "How is that possible?" Gelus demanded.

"Like this," Jerome said. Jerome blasted Gelus with lightning. She screamed in pain, eventually disintegrating. Jerome turned to Daniel, who was panting heavily.

"Go on," Daniel said. "I'll be fine. I'll help Benjamin as soon as I regain my breath." Jerome nodded and Flickered away, looking for Mortus.

* * *

"Paul took over as the Source?" Cole asked.

"Yes, sir," Steve said. "He refused to back down. We couldn't contact you, and he threatened to destroy all of us."

Cole growled and turned to the sisters. "I can't stop the demons unless I'm the Source. There are too many for us to fight. I'm sorry."

The three sisters turned towards each other and shared a look. They all nodded, knowing they all had the same idea, and Piper said "If you need to be the Source to stop the demons, then let's make you the Source."

Cole shook his head. "The only way for me to become the Source is if I kill Paul and vanquish any demons who dare oppose me."

"Well, I don't know about the opposition, but Paul I think we can beat," Paige said.

Cole looked at Paige. "He's a Defender, like Jerome. That means he's invincible."

"Maybe, but Jerome once said that the Destroyer stripped Paul of his powers, right?" Piper asked.

"Yes, he did. Including invincibility, but he can regenerate like Jerome," Cole said.

"Jerome could regenerate, but when both Titans attacked him, it took him a very long time to regenerate. Maybe between your enhanced powers and the Power of Three, we could hit him hard enough to mess up his regeneration long enough for us to throw him into one of those Purgatory pits," Paige said.

"Which should constantly destroy whatever he regenerates," Piper added.

"Do you really think that will work?" Cole asked.

The sisters nodded. "Then let's go," Cole said. He grabbed the sisters and Flamed to the Underworld, where he knew Paul would be hiding.

* * *

"Electus, where are we?" Medeis asked. They were in a realm with nothing other than two obelisks. It was the same realm the Excisio was sealed in.

"This is where Excisio was sealed. One of those obelisks is known as the Sealing Obelisk, which not even Excisio can destroy. The other is the Obelisk of Magic. That obelisk is responsible for supplying the world with magic, and it is also where some of your power is," Electus said.

"If we take it down, will the world still have magic?" Medeis asked.

"It had magic before, it should still have magic after, as long as you desire it," Electus said.

"How do we get it out?" Medeis asked.

"That's the part I haven't figured out yet," Electus said. "Try touching it."

Medeis walked up to the Obelisk of Magic and laid her hand on it. Nothing happened. Electus frowned and walked over to Medeis. He placed his hand over hers and concentrated. The obelisk began glowing, but Medeis absorbed nothing. Medeis took her hand of the obelisk and said "It's not working, Electus."

Electus frowned. "Well, there is one other way..." he started.

Medeis looked at him. "You're not thinking about that, are you?"

Electus nodded. "It might be the only way."

Medeis violently shook her head. "Absolutely not, Electus. We are NOT using the Hollow." Medeis shuddered. "That... _thing_ is dangerous. It will consume everything if we use it."

"It might be our only option," Electus said. "And if we don't, Excisio _will_ destroy everything. At least with the Hollow there's a chance that we can put it back."

Medeis shook her head. "No, please, Electus, no. Let's keep trying before we go to that thing."

Electus agreed and together the two of them started trying new things. Electus tried using his own power to pull Medeis' power out of it, but was unsuccessful. The pair tried many things, but couldn't manage to pull Medeis' power from the obelisk. Eventually, Electus said "I have one more idea before we go to the Hollow, but it may not work. Wait here."

Electus left to find a witch, a powerful witch. He found one. A woman. She was powerful. Not as power as the Charmed Ones, but they were busy, and Electus had a feeling that they wouldn't be any more successful than the other witch, should she fail. Electus appeared before her and said "I come to you to request your help. In exchange, I promise you whatever your heart desires."

The woman, after overcoming her shock, said "If you can give me whatever I want, what makes you think I can help you?"

Electus shrugged. "I'm not sure you can, but I'm desperate enough to try anything. Do you accept my deal?"

"Do I get whatever I want whether I succeed or not?" the woman asked.

"You get what you want if and only if you are successful," Electus said. "But I assure you, I will make it worth your while if you do succeed."

The woman thought for a moment and said "Agreed." Electus grabbed the woman and took her to Medeis and the obelisk.

Medeis looked at Electus and the woman, eyebrows raised. "A witch? Any reason you chose her?"

"She was the most powerful witch I could find," Electus said. "Hopefully she can cast a spell that will release the power from the obelisk and into you."

"Electus, how is she going to write a spell like that?" Medeis asked.

"With this," Electus said. He pulled out Medeis' wand and showed it to her.

Medeis gasped. "How did you get that?" she asked.

"Claustrum is open, and the Adgressors are out. Another reason the others were so willing to let you out," Electus replied. Electus handed the wand to the witch. "Just think about transferring the power from this obelisk into Medeis."

The witch nodded and closed her eyes. She started shaking and groaning as the Obelisk of Magic began glowing. Medeis laid her hand on the obelisk again, and Electus put his hand over hers. The obelisk glowed brighter and some of the light began flowing towards Medeis. It flowed into her mouth, eyes, and nose. She began glowing.

The witch started shaking more and groaning and moaning. Medeis looked at Electus and said "Help her. I'll be fine."

Electus nodded and took his hand off of Medeis'. He pointed it, palm out, at the witch. Golden energy began flowing from his hand into the witch. She stopped shaking as much and stopped moaning and groaning. After a few minutes the glowing stopped and Medeis staggered off of the obelisk. The witch gave a final shudder and collapsed on the ground. Electus checked briefly on the witch to see if she was still alive. She was. Electus went over to Medeis to see how she was doing.

"Medeis, are you alright?" Electus asked.

"I-" Medeis was cut of by a violent sneeze that racked her entire body. The obelisk shook and cracked in response to Medeis' sneeze, ultimately shattering and falling into a pile of rubble. "I'm fine. My powers are back. Well, at least the third that was in the obelisk." Medeis turned to the witch and asked "Is she alright?"

Electus nodded. "Yes, she's fine. Or, she will be. She's not dead, that's what matters."

Medeis nodded and walked over to the witch. She picked up her wand and shoved it in her pocket. She noticed Electus looking at her and asked "What? It's my wand."

Electus grinned and said nothing. He quickly healed the witch, who jumped up in shock. "You kept your end of the bargain, and you succeeded. Now, what is it you desire?" Electus asked.

"It worked?" the witch asked. Electus nodded. The witch smiled. "I honestly didn't think this would work. Please, stop the demon invasion."

"You want me to get the demons to stop attacking?" The witch nodded. "Very well. That actually coincides with my own plans, but it will take time."

"Wait a minute, you said whatever I wanted," the witch argued.

Electus nodded. "Yes, whatever you wanted, whenever I wanted. The demons will be taken care of, I promise, but I will need time. Just trust me." Electus waved his hand and sent the witch back to where he found her.

"Now what?" Medeis asked.

Electus looked at her and smiled. "Well, you can either test out your powers, or we can go for the rest of them."

"It wouldn't be the same without my other powers," Medeis said. "Let's go!"

* * *

The battle was going quite well. The Adgressors were winning, Excisio could clearly see that, but the Defenders were fighting fairly well, all things considered. But none of that mattered to Excisio. All that mattered was that the two peoples killed each other off. And it seemed that they were doing just that.

Excisio left to go to His realm. He had unfinished business with the Sealing Obelisk. Its power was based on the strength of the Grand Design. It was the greatest insult to the Destroyer; He wanted to destroy the Grand Design, so the other Ancients enchanted a device to hold Him as long as the Grand Design was strong. They were trying to make a statement that not even the Destroyer could destroy the Grand Design. Excisio was determined to prove them wrong.

He arrived in His realm in front of the Sealing Obelisk. He waved His hand in front of it. Nothing happened. He growled and blasted it with His black lightning. He held that attack for a long time, but the obelisk showed no signs of damage. Not one.

Excisio roared and turned away from the obelisk, not wanting to see that wretched thing. He saw a pile of rubble where the Obelisk of Magic once was. He walked towards it. It was a pile of rubble, and the smell of magic was heavy. Very heavy, far heavier than any being other than an Ancient could leave. It smelled of Medeis. The smell of magic was very, very unique, and there was no mistaking it. Medeis was free, and she had been there recently. And where Medeis went, Electus was almost sure to follow.

Excisio also knew that the destruction of the Obelisk of Magic meant Medeis was getting some of her powers back, and would probably be going after the rest. Medeis and Electus were a dangerous pair. They were the most powerful Ancients, and they got along very well. Medeis could do anything with magic, which directly affected everything, leaving Medeis almost unlimited power. Electus, too, had access to all things, however his was restricted to making deals with mortals. He alone was allowed to interfere and use spheres of influence other than his own, as long as it was what a mortal asked him to do. Medeis and Electus, together, could do almost anything. This made them a threat, and Excisio wasn't going to allow any threats to survive.

Author's Note:

Next chapter down. Sorry Jerome and the sisters' parts were so short, but I didn't want to start any battles with them this chapter, since once they begin their battles they will likely be going on for two or three chapters. Mostly Electus and Medeis, but they're important to this story, just wait. Writing stuff for Excisio is kind of hard, since He isn't really doing anything other than watching the Defenders and the Adgressors kill each other. Hopefully I set something up so I can write more with Him. I feel that He deserves His own section since He's so important to this story. Don't worry, after two or three more chapters the characters will all come together and then the chapters won't be split as much. Please, leave a review telling me what you liked and didn't like, I want to hear them. The last chapter only got 1 review (lizardmomma, you are officially awesome for reviewing so much) and according to the FanFiction counting thing, the last chapter got about 50 visitors. Surely some of you want to say something? You don't have to, but I want to hear it if you do.


	32. Chapter 32

Sorry I'm taking so much longer than normal. It's hard to type while on vacation.

Chapter 32:

Mortus wasn't hard to find. He had taken a position on a high hill and was blasting Defenders with a beam of dark energy. Jerome Flickered behind him while he was distracted. "Mortus," Jerome said.

Mortus turned around and looked at Jerome, a look of slight surprise crossing his face. "You survived?" he asked.

"More," Jerome said. "I killed Mulciber and Gelus."

Mortus' eyes widened at that revelation. "No, that's not possible. You must be lying. Mulciber!" Mortus called. Mortus looked around, waiting for Mulciber to appear.

Needless to say, he never did. "He's dead. He can't come if he's dead," Jerome said.

Mortus turned to Jerome. "You really killed him. I thought for sure you would die. You don't even have your full powers, and Mulciber has killed many of your kind."

"True," Jerome said. "But your people always fall to mine. Why do you think you've never broken the balance?"

Mortus snarled. "This time is different. Behold your people!" Mortus waved his hand over the battlefield in the valley below the hill. Jerome looked, and saw his people failing. Defenders were falling left and right, ten Defenders falling for every three Adgressors. "Your people are failing. They have become weak since my people were last free. It won't be long before my people overthrow yours, and when they do, this world will be ours!"

Jerome looked away and turned to Mortus. "No," Jerome said.

Mortus turned to Jerome. "What?"

"I said 'no.' This world doesn't belong to you, and it will never belong to you."

"And who's going to stop us? You?" Mortus asked.

"When the Destroyer killed the Council members, I felt it. All of my people felt it. Our leadership had been lost. Since your people are counterparts to mine, created solely to balance my people out, I imagine your death would have a similar effect on them," Jerome said. "The pain I felt was unbearable and crippling. I could do nothing until it left. When all of your people feel that pain, my people will kill them."

Mortus snarled. "Even in death, my people would be victorious! Our total eradication would result in the loss of balance! We would still win!"

"Only one of your people needs to live for the balance to be preserved. Tell me, when faced against an army of people who could kill you, and if you were completely alone, would you not surrender?"

Mortus remained silent, which Jerome took as a yes. "There is one small flaw in your plan," Mortus said.

"What?"

"You have to kill me for it to work!" Mortus leapt towards Jerome, snarling.

* * *

The Charmed Ones and Cole appeared in the cavern Cole had been using as a throne room. Sure enough, Paul was there, sitting on the throne. "Paul!" Cole shouted.

Paul looked over towards Cole and the sisters. "Cole, you've decided to show up. Our master gave me control of the Underworld, so now I'm the Source."

"Yes, you are the Source," Cole said. "But you're no demon. You won't keep that position for long."

Paul frowned. "Why not? I'm more powerful than any of the demons. They can't beat me."

"It doesn't matter if they can beat you or not. What matters is if you have their loyalty. The demons will fear you for a time, and that will earn you their loyalty, but eventually they'll start asking themselves why they should listen to you, when you aren't even one of them. When that happens, you'll lose you're power,"Cole said.

Paul shrugged. "Oh, well. None of that really matters to me, anyway. All I want is a chance to kill Jerome. Once that's done, you can have the Underworld."

Paige couldn't help but intervene at that statement. "You're entire reason for joining the Destroyer is just to get a chance to kill Jerome? Are you insane? You're helping this entire world be completely obliterated! The Destroyer may let you kill Jerome, but once He's done that He's going to turn on you and destroy you!"

Paul frowned as if deep in thought. However, since it was Paul, the thought wasn't too deep. "No, I'll kill Jerome and then the Destroyer will lose and everything will be okay."

"How?" Cole asked.

"I don't know. Jerome will figure something out. He always does, or almost always does," Paul replied.

"Wait, what?" Piper asked. "That doesn't make any sense! If you kill Jerome, how is he going to figure something out? He'd be dead!"

Paul held his head, as if in pain. "I don't know! All I know is that Jerome betrayed me and I'm going to kill him for it!" Paul threw an energy ball at the group. Piper tried to blow it up before it hit them, but the enhanced energy ball had enough power to survive her attempts. The energy ball hit the ground in front of the Charmed Ones and Cole, creating an explosion with enough power to knock them all back a few feet. The sisters landed on their backs, but Cole somehow managed to stay standing. Cole threw three fireballs at Paul, one right after the other.

Paul countered the first one with an energy ball, and deflected the second one with his telekinesis. The third fireball, however, hit Paul square in the chest, knocking him on his back. Paul stood up and said "I'm still invincible! The Destroyer didn't take that away from me! You, on the other hand, are not!" Paul blasted Cole with intense lightning. Cole dove to the side and shot intense blue fire at Paul. The fire hit Paul and consumed him. Paul screamed in pain, then the fire vanished. Paul looked at Cole, pure anger in his eyes.

"I think I'll kill you first!" Paul roared. Paul began throwing energy balls at Cole. Cole created a wall of blue fire to protect him. Paul kept throwing energy balls, never once relenting.

"We have to do something!" Phoebe shouted to Piper.

"Do what? We can't keep up with them. They're way more powerful than us," Piper replied.

"Paul may be more powerful, but he's not very smart. Maybe we can trick him," Paige said.

"Yeah, we can trick him and distract him so Cole can attack," Phoebe said.

"Well, first things first, we should probably do this," Piper said. She flickered her hands at Paul. As expected, Paul didn't blow up, but the air near him did. The explosion was strong enough to cause him to stagger, giving Cole a chance to start attacking. Cole took his chance and started throwing fireballs at Paul, the way Paul had been throwing energy balls at Cole. Paul deflected a few of them and started throwing energy balls at Cole's fireballs. The attacks hit each other and exploded, knocking both Paul and Cole to the ground. They both stood up and resumed the assault on each other, with the sisters occasionally distracting Paul when Cole needed a boost.

* * *

Electus knew where the other two obelisks were hidden. He and Medeis had already found the second one, the one that powered the Angels of Destiny, and reintegrated it into Medeis. The two of them were at the last obelisk, the one that powered the Defenders and Adgressors. Electus nodded to Medeis and said "You know what to do."

Medeis nodded and stepped up to the obelisk. She started siphoning power from it, drawing it back into her. The obelisk began to glow as the power was drained from it. After a few seconds it stopped. Medeis braced herself, waiting for the usual sneeze that accompanied the return of all that power. She sneezed, and the obelisk shattered at the force.

Electus walked up to Medeis and smiled. "It is done," he said.

Medeis nodded and said "Now, to see if I can affect other Ancients." Medeis' hand started glowing. She touched Electus. Nothing happened.

Medeis frowned. "Um, I don't think I can."

"Why? What was supposed to happen?" Electus asked.

"You were supposed to turn purple."

"Why purple?" Electus asked.

Medeis shrugged. "Well, it's my favorite color, and the color of magic, so why not? Anyway, the point is, it didn't work. You're still your normal, golden self."

"How can that be? You were locked up when we were forced to take the oath."

"I don't know, Electus. Maybe the oath was just a ceremony thing. The Grand Architect may have stripped all of us of our power to affect each other right after the ceremony," Medeis said.

"I suppose so," Electus said. He sighed. "Now what are we going to do? You can't stop Excisio, either."

"No, she can't," a voice said from behind Electus and Medeis. They both spun around to see Excisio Himself, standing with His clawed hands behind His back.

"Excisio," Medeis said. "After so long, I'd almost forgotten how ugly you are."

Excisio's elongated face gave way to a snarl, revealing His sharp, canine teeth. "You speak boldly for one who has spent the last several million years locked up."

"Why have you come, Excisio?" Electus asked. "You can't touch us."

"That, brother, is where you're wrong. I felt the power when Medeis drained the Obelisk of Magic, and I knew that the two of you could be a threat. But I also knew that I wouldn't be able to confront you directly, so I went back into Claustrum. As you know, at the very bottom of Claustrum there is an altar that once held all of our things. However, underneath the altar there is a hidden room. In this hidden room there are many traps and many puzzles, along with several things that likely would have either killed or chased away any other being. But not me. I continued, and, hidden so well almost no one could have found it, was a button. This button caused a wall to give way, which led to another altar. This altar held the one thing that could guarantee my success; the Tablet."

Medeis looked confused. Electus, however, paled. "You have it? The Tablet?" he asked.

Excisio nodded, a fierce, feral grin on His face. "Yes, the Tablet. The same Tablet that the Grand Architect used to keep us from harming each other. Do you know how it works? The names of the Ancients listed on that Tablet are immune to other Ancients' powers."

"What do you plan on doing with that?" Medeis asked.

"I'm going to erase all the names on this Tablet other than my own. Do you understand what that would mean?" Excisio asked.

Medeis did. She nodded and said "It would mean that you alone would be immune to our powers, but we would be vulnerable to yours."

Excisio nodded. "And I'm going to start with him." Excisio pointed at Electus. Excisio then pulled out a piece of blinding white stone and scraped a glowing claw across it. Electus grunted in pain and began glowing. The glow faded, and Electus fell to his knees, panting. Excisio snapped His fingers and conjured a large, dark, wicked looking sword. The Sword of the Destroyer.

"Now, brother, you will suffer," Excisio said. He stabbed Electus in the gut with His sword. Excisio drew the sword out of Electus, and Electus fell over.

"No!" Medeis screamed.

Excisio's sword disappeared, and He said "Sister, your punishment will be to watch as Electus slowly and painfully is destroyer. Aevus will die, but I will spare the others, for now." Excisio turned around and vanished.

Medeis turned to Electus. Electus was breathing heavily. "Electus," Medeis whispered.

"It's … okay. I'll be... fine," Electus said between breaths, though he and Medeis both knew he was lying. "We have to.. find a way... to stop... Excisio... before-" Electus was cut of by a massive quake and a loud shattering sound, followed by what sounded like a thousand spirits screaming and fading. "The Creator is... dead," Electus said.

"I know, I felt it, too," Medeis said, knowing perfectly well that he knew but wanting to try to comfort him with her voice, since there was nothing more she could do.

"Excisio must be stopped. There is... a Defender. Jerome. His father... was the last one... to stop... Excisio. He may know... how to lock Him... back up. That Defender... is our last hope. He has... something no other Defender has. But he can't do it alone. He'll need... the Charmed Ones. You need... to make sure... that those three witches... are with Jerome... when he confronts Excisio."

"How?" Medeis asked.

"Here's what you need to do," Electus said. Medeis leaned in towards Electus as he told her what needed to be done. Medeis nodded and stood up.

Before she turned to leave, she said "I promise I'll be back for you. You won't die alone." Medeis then turned around and disappeared.

Author's Note:

Wow, that took forever to write. Sorry about the delay. Anyway, what do you guys think is going to happen next? How are the sisters and Cole going to beat Paul? Is Jerome going to be able to defeat Mortus? What makes him so special that he can beat the Destroyer and lock him back up? And, most importantly of all, what did you guys think of this chapter? Now, it's important to remember that Electus isn't dead yet, and this story isn't over yet, so I don't want any "You killed Electus! What on Earth is wrong with you? You suck, go die in a hole!" Yeah, I'd really rather not get any of those until Electus is dead (unless he somehow survives an unsurvivable wound, which might happen). So, anyway, please review.


	33. Chapter 33

This chapter will focus a lot more on the sisters and Cole, though the first section will be the Defenders.

Chapter 33:

Benjamin blasted Fulmen in the face with an energy blast, killing him. He collapsed and panted out "We did it."

Daniel nodded. "Yes, we killed the Adgressor. I believe Jerome may need our help, we should find him after we catch our breath."

"How did you kill Gelus so easily?" Benjamin asked between breaths.

"I didn't," Daniel replied. "Jerome did, after he killed Mulciber."

"Jerome?" Benjamin asked. "Jerome killed Mulciber and Gelus?"

"I was surprised, too," Daniel said. "He probably would have killed Fulmen, too, had I not told him to go after Mortus."

"If Jerome killed those two, why do you believe he needs help?" Benjamin asked.

"Mortus is more dangerous than the three we fought combined. Mortus has killed more of our people than I have seen during my entire lifetime," Daniel replied. "And I am old, very old."

Benjamin nodded. "You are right. Where do you think they are?"

Daniel was about to speak when a bright flash of light, followed by a thunderous explosion sound, came from the top of a nearby hill. "There, I would guess," Daniel said. Benjamin nodded. He and Daniel looked at each other, nodded, and Flickered to the top of the hill, where Jerome and Mortus were locked in mortal combat.

Jerome blasted lightning at Mortus, who deflected it with a flick of his wrist. Mortus shot a ball of dark energy at Jerome, who leapt over it. Jerome telekinetically threw a rock at Mortus. Mortus responded by kicking the rock and shattering it. Jerome threw several energy balls at Mortus. Mortus created a force field that blocked all of the energy balls. Benjamin and Daniel Flickered behind Mortus as Jerome shot a powerful blast of lightning at him. Mortus blasted ice at the lightning, causing it to dissipate. Mortus created a giant ball of dark energy. He lifted the ball into the air, preparing to throw it at Jerome, when Benjamin blasted some raw energy at him. Mortus staggered and the ball dissipated. Mortus turned around and snarled. "Defenders!" he said.

Jerome glared at the two of them. "What are you doing here?"

"We came to help you, Jerome," Benjamin replied. Benjamin threw a fireball at Mortus, knocking him to the ground.

"I don't need any help," Jerome replied, throwing an energy ball at Mortus. Mortus jumped up and over the energy ball. Jerome drew his sword and ran towards Mortus. Jerome swung his sword at Mortus, who caught the blade in one hand. Mortus yanked the blade from Jerome's grip and tossed it to the side, embedding it into the ground. Mortus punched Jerome in the gut, knocking him back a few feet, though Jerome managed to stay on his feet. Mortus was about to blast Jerome with his dark energy when Benjamin tackled Mortus. Mortus threw Benjamin off of him and snarled.

"Worthless Defender!" Mortus roared. Mortus telekinetically pulled Jerome's sword out of the ground and into his hand. Mortus grabbed Benjamin with his other hand by the neck and held him up. Mortus snarled and thrust the blade into Benjamin. Benjamin grunted in pain and groaned and Mortus ripped the sword from his body. Mortus dropped Benjamin, who crumpled to the ground.

"No!" Daniel and Jerome screamed. Daniel ran up to Mortus, who backhand slapped Daniel across the face, knocking him to the ground. Jerome blasted Mortus with lightning, knocking him back several feet.

Jerome ran to Benjamin, who was bleeding profusely from the wound in his stomach. Jerome knelt down and tried to heal Benjamin, but it didn't work. Benjamin shook his head. "No, this is one wound that cannot be healed," Benjamin said. "Jerome, I am sorry for everything I have done. I failed you as a brother and joined the Council despite what happened to father and mother. I was too afraid to confront Marthis about you, and because of my cowardice you have paid a terrible price. I'm sorry, Jerome." Benjamin then gasped and, as his final breath left him, died.

Jerome shook his head. "No, no, no NO! Benjamin!" he shouted. Benjamin's body disintegrated. Jerome roared.

Mortus stood up and said "Weak fool."

Jerome stood up and turned around. Mortus expected to see grief and resignation in Jerome's eyes, but all he saw was rage and resolve. "I swear," Jerome said "that I will kill you. My brother gave everything he had to protect the balance, even his own life. I will not let that sacrifice be in vain!" Jerome snarled and leapt at Mortus. Jerome collided with Mortus and knocked him to the ground. Jerome sat up, on top of Mortus, and repeatedly began punching him in the face. Mortus, under the relentless onslaught of Jerome's fists, could do nothing but wait. Jerome, after delivering one particularly powerful punch, leapt off of Mortus and blasted him with all the lightning he could summon. Mortus screamed in pain. His screams grew louder and louder until Jerome stopped. Mortus weakly tried to stand up. He managed to get to his knees before collapsing.

"Why," Mortus panted. "Why not end this? You could have killed me."

"You're right," Jerome replied. "I could have killed you. I want you to know that. You are at my mercy."

"Kill me," Mortus said. "Kill me now and end this."

Jerome shook his head. "Look at the battlefield. It seems the tides have turned; my people are winning this battle now." Jerome was right; the Defenders had managed to gain the upper hand on the Adgressors.

Mortus shook his head. "Why are you making me watch this?"

"So you know that your people, no matter how hard they may try, will never be able to beat my people. The balance will be preserved," Jerome said. The sky began to shake and darken. Suddenly, a loud shattering sound penetrated the air.

Mortus began laughing. "What are you laughing at?" Jerome asked.

"You may kill me, but my people have already won. An Ancient is dead. The balance has been broken," Mortus said.

Jerome blasted Mortus with lightning, killing him. Daniel moaned and Jerome rushed over the help him up. "What happened?" Daniel asked.

"Mortus killed Benjamin. I killed him, and somehow an Ancient has died," Jerome said.

"Mortus is dead?" Daniel asked. He turned and looked over the battlefield. "That would explain that."

Jerome turned as well. The Adgressors had all grabbed their heads and began screaming in pain. The Defenders, at first, were stunned, but they quickly recovered and began slaughtering the incapacitated Adgressors.

Jerome turned back to Daniel. "I have to find the Destroyer. Even if He destroys me, I have to try to seal him away."

Daniel nodded. "You are your father's son. He would be proud of you."

Jerome Flickered away, searching for Excisio.

* * *

The Charmed Ones were struggling. Paul was invincible, and no matter how hard the sisters and Cole tried, they couldn't beat him. Paul just kept shrugging the attacks off and kept fighting. "Okay, new plan," Piper said to her sisters. Cole was busy distracting Paul.

"Paige, try to project yourself into one of the flames in that torch thing. Once you're in the fire, distract Paul. Phoebe, while Paul's distracted with Paige, try to tap into his emotions and see if you can't use his powers," Piper said.

"I could never get a read on Jerome," Phoebe said.

"Yeah, but he's Jerome. Paul seems a lot more... expressive than Jerome, so maybe he'll be easier," Piper said. "If you can, then maybe a combined attack from you and Cole will at least knock him out."

"What're you going to do?" Paige asked.

"I'm going to try to keep Paul from ejecting you from the fire," Piper replied. "Ready? Go!"

Paige projected herself into the fire in the torch right behind Paul. "Hey! Ugly!" Paige shouted, unable to think of anything else. It got Paul's attention. Paul turned around and saw Paige's face in the fire. He frowned.

"What are you doing in the fire?" Paul wondered aloud. Phoebe ran up and tried to get a read on Paul's emotions. She tried for several minutes.

Eventually, Phoebe shouted "Piper, I can't get a read on him!"

Paul turned around and saw Phoebe. He threw an energy ball at her, which she jumped over.

"Paige, come back!" Piper shouted. Paige came out of the fire and went back into her own body.

Phoebe ran back over to Piper and Paige while Cole distracted Paul. "Any other bright ideas?" Phoebe asked.

"Try a cognitive recalibration!" Cole shouted while deflecting an energy ball.

"A what?" Paige asked.

"I think that means he wants us to hit Paul in the head really hard," Phoebe replied.

"Why didn't he just say that?" Piper asked.

"Probably so Paul doesn't know what he said," Phoebe replied.

"Whatever. Phoebe, do you think you could kick him in the head hard enough to knock him out?" Piper asked.

Phoebe nodded. "Alright," Piper said. She looked over at Paul and Cole, who were fighting fiercely. "Paul looks pretty distracted right now. Paige, can you Orb Phoebe right behind Paul?"

Paige nodded. "Okay, on my signal, Orb Phoebe behind Paul. Phoebe, as soon as you see Paul, kick him in the back of the head as hard as you can," Piper said. Both of her sisters nodded in agreement.

Piper watched the battle for a few minutes. When Paul was about to blast Cole with lightning, Piper gave the signal. Paige Orbed Phoebe behind Paul, and Phoebe jumped up and kicked Paul in the back of the head as hard as she possibly could. Paul grunted and fell forward, on his face. "We did it!" Phoebe exclaimed.

Paul groaned and began to get back up. "Oh," Phoebe said. Paul turned around and snarled.

"You hit me in the head!" he roared. Paul built up a massive energy ball. "Now you're gonna pay!"

Paul lifted the energy ball and readied himself to throw it at the stunned Charmed One. Before Paul had a chance, Cole shouted "No!" and threw a fireball at Paul. Paul grunted and let the energy ball dissipate. Paul turned around slowly. Paul built up a ton of lightning and blasted it at Cole. Cole countered with a stream of intense blue fire. The sisters, however, were too stunned to do anything.

Cole could feel the energy from the two attacks building. In a few seconds, it was going to explode. The Charmed Ones, Cole's family, weren't moving, and they wouldn't survive the explosion. Cole had to make a choice; either protect himself from the impending explosion, or get his family out of harm's way. The answer was simple. Cole telekinetically threw the Charmed Ones as far behind him as he could, getting them out of harm's way. The sisters had reminded him that, although he may have been a demon, he was still half witch. And good witches always saved others before themselves. The energy between the two enhanced attacks had gotten to the point where the only possible thing it could do was explode, and that's exactly what it did.

The sisters hit the ground, hard, and heard the explosion. They saw Cole fly through the air towards them, and they saw him hit the ground, hard. They also saw the flames of death engulf him as he died, leaving no body behind. "No! Cole!" Phoebe screamed. Piper and Paige were too shocked to do anything.

The sisters heard a groan come from the opposite direction. They all simultaneously turned their heads to see Paul slowly getting up. When he stood up he looked towards the sisters. "Where'd the demon go?" Paul asked.

When no one replied Paul said "Wait... that killed him! That nasty explosion killed him! The demon is dead! Now, all I have to do is finish you three off!"

Paul began charging a powerful lightning attack. "Well," Piper said. "It looks like we're really going to die this time. I don't see any way for us to get out of this one."

Phoebe nodded, tears in her eyes. "I-I guess this is the end. We failed."

The three sisters all hugged each other, thinking that if they had to die they wanted to do it together. None of them had any plans, tricks, or crafty ways to save themselves; they were done. They were really going to die, and by the looks of things, they were going to actually stay dead this time.

Paul had built up enough energy and shot intense lightning at the sisters. The sisters all closed their eyes, waiting for the lightning to strike. It never did. Instead, they heard a loud crash of lightning striking something, and they all opened their eyes. Standing in front of them, glowing in a purple light, was a woman. The woman had her hand held up at Paul, and the lightning he was shooting was crawling back towards him. Paul was showing clear signs of struggling, trying to push the lightning back at the Charmed Ones' mysterious savior. The woman showed no signs of effort. The lightning reached Paul and blasted him on his back. The woman turned towards the Charmed Ones. "Who are you?" Piper asked.

"My name is Medeis. I am the Ancient of magic. You've met Electus, yes?" she asked.

"You're Electus' girlfriend," Piper said. "He said you were sealed away."

Medeis nodded. "I was. Electus managed to convince the other Ancients to free me. But that's not why I'm here. You three are needed in the battle against Excisio, the one you know as the Destroyer. I am here to give you something you'll need to beat both the Defender and the Destroyer." Medeis held up her hands. They became shrouded in a royal purple nimbus, which flew from her hands into the Charmed Ones. The nimbus faded, and the Charmed Ones felt a huge surge in power.

"Whoa! What did you do to us?" Paige asked.

"I have enhanced your powers. You now possess enough might and strength to compete with the Defenders and Adgressors," Medeis said.

"So, we can vanquish them now?" Piper asked.

Medeis shook her head. "No, they can only be killed by each other. However, with your newly enhanced powers, you could write a spell to strip that Defender of his invincibility."

"We don't have that kind of time!" Phoebe protested. "He could get back up at any minute!"

"Here." Medeis held out a simple wand. "If the three of you all grab hold of this wand and think about stripping that Defender's invincibility, then it will be done, no consequences or side effects."

The sisters all grabbed the wand and all simultaneously thought about stripping Paul of his invincibility. The wand glowed, and they heard Paul scream. Medeis took her wand back. "Wait, couldn't we just have thought about vanquishing him?" Piper asked.

Medeis grinned. "But then you wouldn't get a chance to test your new powers, now would you?" Medeis stepped back and leaned against a wall.

Paul stood up and blasted the Charmed Ones with intense lightning. Phoebe jumped and flew over it. Flew, not levitated. Phoebe could fly! Paige Orbed out of the way in record Orbing time, and Piper phased through the lightning, allowing it to pass harmlessly through her body.

Paul threw a energy ball at Phoebe, who wasn't paying attention to Paul at all. Somehow, though, Phoebe sensed the attack and easily flew out of the way. "Whoa," Phoebe said. "I just kind of... sensed that energy ball!"

Medeis smiled slightly. "Enhanced precognition. You can sense when something's about to happen without a vision."

"Okay, that's cool," Phoebe said.

"I wonder what enhanced blowing stuff up is like..." Piper said mischievously. Piper flicked her hands at Paul, causing his right arm and a very large chunk of the cave to explode.

Paige, not wanting to be left out of the fun, Orbed a massive boulder, one far larger than anything she could ever have Orbed before, at Paul, without having to say "Boulder!" Paul, in pain over his arm, didn't see the boulder coming and was struck by it, crushing him against the now jagged wall, or what was left of it.

"Try your projection," Medeis suggested. Paige projected herself into a torch near Paul. Normally she felt like she had no control over her motions, but that time Paige felt like she could control herself. Paige whipped towards Paul, as fire, and collided with his face. She left the fire as Paul screamed in pain.

"Wow. And no aftereffects!" Paige said.

Phoebe flew over to a rather sharp looking rock. "Alright, let's finish this," she said. Piper and Paige nodded, and Phoebe took the rock and stabbed it through Paul's chest. Paul screamed in pain as he turned a pale gray color. His skin seemed to become transparent, revealing what looked like very cloudy gray water under his skin. His skin seemed to burst, and Paul disintegrated into nothingness.

"Huh," Medeis said. "Never seen a Defender die like that before."

"Now what?" Paige asked.

"Now," Medeis said. "We face Excisio. Jerome will be there, and the four of you will need to somehow beat him."

"Could you maybe be a little more specific?" Phoebe asked.

Medeis shrugged. "Sorry, I don't know how. Electus said that Jerome was the only hope for stopping Excisio and that he needs you three to do it."

"Where is Excisio?" Piper asked. Perhaps it was her newly enhanced powers, but Piper was feeling very confident in herself.

"I'll take you to him." Medeis grabbed the three sisters and disappeared, taking them to Excisio.

Author's Note:

This was fun to write. Hopefully it was fun to read. I don't really have much to say other than thank you for reading this story, and it's prequel, and being interested in what I thought at first was an absolutely horrible concept. I was very wrong. This story is nearly done, expect anywhere from two to five chapters for the final battle (depending on how long I make the chapters and where I think would be good stopping places) and another chapter or two for an epilogue (because epilogues are a necessity). Now, just because this story is nearing the end, doesn't mean I don't want reviews. I still want them just as badly as before. I'd also like opinions on whether to make several shorter chapters or a couple of long chapters and how long you think the final battle should be. Any suggestions for the epilogue would be nice, too, along with suggestions for the final battle.

Huh. Looks like I had quite a bit to say after all. Oh well.


	34. Chapter 34

Here we go, the final battle begins now!

Chapter 34:

Jerome Flickered into an area that had nothing inside it save for a single obelisk. Jerome looked around, and saw the Destroyer step out from behind the obelisk. "Well, you did survive," Excisio said.

"I did," Jerome replied.

"And you managed to kill Mortus, the greatest of the Adgressors. Impressive."

"I foiled your plan," Jerome said.

Excisio shook his head. "No, my plan was to have your people and the Adgressors weaken each other so they couldn't do anything to stop me. I'd say my plan was a success."

"My father stopped you before, he locked you away," Jerome said. "What makes you think I can't do the same?"

Excisio snarled. "Your father was an anomaly! He had true free will, and I couldn't touch him because of that! But not anymore," Excisio said.

"What are you talking about?" Jerome asked.

"This," Excisio pulled out a stone tablet "is the tablet used to bind us Ancients and keep us from affecting each other. Any name on this tablet is protected from the Ancients, and now only my name remains. I can destroy you with the flick of my wrist, if I wanted. But you, you have been a thorn in my side for far too long! I won't just destroy you, I'll tear you to pieces and destroy each part as slowly and as painfully as I can!"

"Excisio!" a voice came from the side. Jerome and the Destroyer both turned their heads to see Piper, Phoebe, Paige, and a woman standing a little ways off.

"Medeis," Excisio said. "I thought you'd be by your dying boyfriend's side."

"What are you three doing here?" Jerome asked.

"We're here to help you beat the Destroyer," Paige replied.

Excisio growled. "I don't think you're going to get much of a chance." Excisio held up his hand, which was glowing in a dark light.

"Excisio!" Medeis exclaimed, just as the Destroyer was about to destroy the Charmed Ones. "Are you afraid that these girls and that Defender can beat you? Why don't you give them a fighting chance?"

Excisio lowered his hand and said "Very well, you want to see them die the hard way, so be it." Excisio turned towards Jerome and the sisters. "I'll even give you the first move."

Jerome turned to the sisters. "You three are going to die!" Jerome said.

Piper pointed at Medeis. "She said we're instrumental in beating the Destroyer."

Jerome turned to Medeis. "Why do they need to be here?" he asked.

Medeis shrugged. "I actually have no idea. Electus just told me to enhance their powers and get them here, because you're going to need them."

"And he didn't say why?"

Medeis shook her head. Jerome sighed. "Bring him here," he said.

"He's a little, uh, indisposed at the moment," Medeis replied.

"She means he's dying," Excisio added. "Now, let's get this over with."

"You said we have the first move," Jerome said. "Why don't you wait until we're ready to make that move?"

Excisio snarled. "You want Electus? Fine." The Destroyer waved his hand. In front of him a large hole appeared. Electus fell through the hole and landed on the ground. He looked terrible. Golden liquid, Ancient blood, was pouring out of a gaping hole in his stomach.

"Electus," Paige whispered, shocked at his condition.

"Electus!" Medeis cried.

"Electus, how are we supposed to beat the Destroyer?" Jerome asked, getting straight to the point.

Electus groaned and said "I'm sorry, I cannot answer that."

"There, see? He doesn't know. Now, let's get on with this!" Excisio snarled. "I've waited hundreds of thousands of millenia for this moment!"

Jerome, rather than responding to Excisio, asked Electus "What do you mean you can't answer that? You told Medeis that the Charmed Ones were instrumental in beating the Destroyer!"

"You need to figure it out on your own. If I tell you, you won't be able to beat him. All I can tell you is that they need you, and you need them," Electus said.

Jerome turned to the sisters. "Any ideas?" he asked.

"Maybe we can cast a spell to give you a power boost," Paige said. "If we cast a powerful enough spell, then maybe we can multiply your power to match His."

Jerome shrugged. "It's worth a try."

The sisters turned to Medeis. "Can we borrow your wand?" Piper asked.

Medeis shook her head. "Sorry, no can do."

"Here, try this," Jerome said. "Power of Jerome rise, let it rise beyond the skies. Increase his might by plenty, multiply his strength by twenty."

The sisters chanted the spell, and Jerome felt his power skyrocket. He turned towards the Destroyer and said "Your turn."

Excisio charged up a ball of black energy and threw it at Jerome. Jerome jumped over it and blasted lightning at the Destroyer. The Destroyer took the hit, and was unaffected. Jerome faltered, and blasted again, pouring more power into the lightning. Again, the Destroyer withstood the attack with no visible damage. He didn't even seem to acknowledge the attack. Jerome poured every ounce of power he possessed into his next attack, but again the Destroyer withstood it.

"My turn again?" the Destroyer cockily asked. Without bothering to wait for a response the Destroyer launched an attack of His black lightning at Jerome. Jerome tried to leap out of the way, but he was too slow. The attack hit him and knocked him back, landing on the ground near Electus.

"Jerome," Electus said. "Give in to your emotions."

"What?" Jerome asked as he stood back up.

"All powers are tied to emotions, including yours. Let your emotions fuel your strength," Electus said. "You've spent much of your life hiding and rejecting your emotions, denying yourself the liberty to feel them. Don't. Your emotions are fuel for your powers, use them."

Jerome frowned. He had spent his entire life locking up his emotions, refusing to let them surface. The only time he had allowed them to surface was when Amenti infected him with that nasty potion that drew them to the surface and multiplied them. However, when that happened Jerome was able to temporarily break through the seal the Council had put on his powers. Perhaps emotions were the key to beating the Destroyer. Maybe that's how his father managed to do it all those years ago.

Jerome focused every ounce of power he had into a single, powerful energy ball. He then allowed all his anger and rage to fuel the attack. All his anger at the Adgressors for everything they had done, his anger over his brother's death, his anger at the Destroyer for ruining the balance of the Grand Design forever, and lastly his anger at himself for not being able to stop Him went into that one attack. Jerome roared and threw the energy ball at Excisio.

Excisio turned and let the energy ball hit him. Unlike the last attacks, however, that attack actually caused the Destroyer to stagger back. He snarled. "So, somehow the witches' spell managed to give you strength. Well, let's see how their spell works without them to fuel it!"

The Destroyer blasted some black lightning at the Charmed Ones. Phoebe saw the attack and pushed her sisters out of the way, taking the full hit of the Destroyer's attack. She screamed and collapsed on the ground. "Phoebe!" Piper screamed. She and Paige ran to Phoebe's body.

Jerome was stunned for a second, then he ran over to Phoebe. He felt the spell fade as Phoebe was hit, and he assumed the worst. When Jerome got to Phoebe Piper and Paige were crying. Jerome knelt by Phoebe's body and checked for a pulse. There wasn't one. "No," Jerome muttered. He tried healing her, but to no avail. "No, no, no," Jerome muttered. He tried again, and again, and again. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't bring Phoebe back.

"No!" Jerome cried. Phoebe was dead! She was dead because Jerome couldn't stop Excisio! Jerome felt incredible levels of grief, pain, and rage. He felt all of the raw emotions being converted into power. He could feel his power rising, soaring, far beyond anything he had ever experienced before, save one time.

Jerome's hair turned stark white and his eyes began to glow solid gold. Raw power emanated from him, like heat from an intense fire. Jerome turned to Excisio and tackled him, successfully knocking the Destroyer back a few feet and causing him to stagger. Piper turned to Paige and asked, through her tears, "What just happened?"

Paige looked at Jerome and, remembering what he had told her at IHOP all that time ago, replied "I think Jerome just Ascended."

Author's Note:

I'm killing everyone, aren't I? Well, the Charmed Ones never stay dead long, so please don't attack me about killing Phoebe. She may very well come back. So, any thoughts? I'm thinking there will probably be three chapters worth of final battle, so expect two more plus at least one for an epilogue, and don't forget to review. I love reviews, they fuel my creative powers.


	35. Chapter 35

I'm kind of evil, aren't I? Making you wait for the next chapter right when it gets good. Yeah. Well, here's an end to my evil reign.

Chapter 35:

Jerome felt the power of his Ascension, but there was no burning desire, no, burning need to reset the world. In fact, he was as in control of himself then as he normally was. The only change was the massive power boost. Jerome blasted the Destroyer with lightning so intense that it nearly blinded all those watching. Piper and Paige's hair actually stood up on ends just from the residual electric power. Excisio took the full brunt of the attack. The force of the attack knocked Him on His back, causing Him to grunt in pain. Excisio leapt up off the ground and blasted Jerome with black lightning. Jerome leapt out of the way and threw two energy balls at the Destroyer. The Destroyer waved His hand in front of them, destroying them.

"You!" Excisio snarled. "You have caused me nothing but grief! You have been a thorn in my side for far too long! And now, you will die!" Excisio blasted black lightning at Jerome, lightning that was so powerful that the sheer power knocked Piper and Paige on their backs. There was no way Jerome could avoid that attack, so he countered it with his own lightning. The two attacks met in a flash of raw energy. The two thunderbolts were cackling loudly with electrical power, meeting in between the two combatants. Excisio's black lightning and Jerome's bright blue lightning combined into a gray colored ball of electrical energy.

Piper and Paige stood up and watched as the gray ball was slowly pushed towards Jerome. "We have to help Jerome!" Paige said. "For Phoebe's sake."

Piper nodded. "You're right. She wouldn't want it to end like this. She would keep on fighting until the very end. So will we."

Piper and Paige grabbed hands and focused. The two sisters were trying to combine their strength into Piper's molecular immobilization, similar to when Paige had her voice stolen and the three held hands, allowing Piper and Phoebe to tap into her power. They both flicked their hands, the ones that weren't holding the other's, and tried to freeze the Destroyer. It worked, to an extent. The Destroyer froze for about half a second, but it was long enough to stop his black lightning and give Jerome the chance to push his own lightning at Excisio. The attack hit Excisio, knocking Him on His back.

The Destroyer leapt up and roared. He blasted black lightning at the two remaining sisters. Piper shoved Paige out of the way, taking the full brunt of the attack. The force of the impact was strong enough to knock Piper back several feet and knock Paige off her feet just from the shock waves. Piper was on the ground, not moving. Paige screamed and ran over to her sister. She checked for a pulse, but found none. She heard Jerome scream "Piper! No!" but it didn't matter. Her big sister was dead. Paige was once again an only child.

"No," Paige whispered. "No, no, no, please don't die! Piper, please live! Don't leave me all alone, don't make me an only child again!" Tears began to freely flow from her eyes.

Jerome roared in anger and tackled the Destroyer. He knocked Excisio off His feet and onto His back. Jerome began a relentless onslaught of incredibly powerful energy balls. Each one caused the Destroyer to wince.

The Destroyer eventually threw Jerome off of Him. Jerome blasted Him with lightning, knocking Him on His back, again. Excisio snarled and leapt up. "You have been a thorn in my side long enough!" Excisio blasted black lightning at Jerome. Jerome countered with his own lightning, resulting in the two attacks meeting in the middle, again. As before, a gray sphere formed where the two attacks met. Also as before, the sphere slowly made its way towards Jerome.

Paige turned to Electus and asked "Isn't Jerome strong enough now to beat the Destroyer?"

Electus weakly replied "No, not yet. He hasn't tapped into his full potential. He's nearly there. See how much slower the attack is moving towards him? And how he's now able to push it back a bit with a burst of power?"

"What has to happen for him to be able to stop the Destroyer?" Paige asked. She did notice that the attack was moving towards Jerome much slower than last time, probably half as quickly, if not more, but nevertheless, Jerome was still losing.

"He needs to tap deeper, deeper than he's ever tapped before. He needs to realize his true feelings and use them to win," Electus said. "That's what his father did."

"What emotions did his father use?" Paige asked.

"That's for Jerome to find out," Electus said. Electus began coughing.

Medeis immediately stepped in and did whatever she could to help Electus. She looked at Paige and said "Leave Electus alone. He doesn't have enough strength left."

"Harsh," Paige said.

Medeis sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm so worried about him. If he dies, what am I to do? He is everything to me." The Ancient actually had tears in her eyes when she stopped talking.

Paige felt tears in her eyes, too. Her sisters were everything to her, and now they were both gone. No, no tears. Not yet. She couldn't afford to lose it when Jerome needed help. Not until the Destroyer was safely sealed again would she let herself mourn and grieve her sisters. For now, she had to focus on stopping the Destroyer.

The gray sphere was almost at Jerome. Paige tried Orbing the attack away from Jerome, but it didn't work. She then tried projecting herself into the Destroyer's lightning, near Him. That did work, and she was able to yell "Boo!" at Him, distracting Him long enough for Jerome to shove the gray sphere away from him.

Paige quickly left the lightning; it felt horrible being stuck in lightning. The Destroyer looked at Paige with a look of pure malice, but didn't do anything because He was busy keeping the gray sphere away from him. The sphere was again slowly making its way towards Jerome. Paige, unable to think of any other way to help, Orbed onto the Destroyer's back. She started hitting Him in the head, successfully distracting Him and allowing Jerome's attack to pass His. Paige Orbed off of the Destroyer at the last second, avoiding getting hit by Jerome's attack. Excisio, however, took the full brunt of the attack and was knocked on His back.

Excisio roared and stoop up. He looked at Paige and blasted lightning at her. Jerome, however, intervened and tackled the Destroyer, throwing His lightning off and making Him miss Paige. The Destroyer threw Jerome off of Him and shot lightning at Paige again. This time, Jerome tackled Paige, knocking her out of the way at the very last second. Jerome, however, was too slow to save himself. He took the full brunt of the attack and screamed in pain. He collapsed on the ground, panting heavily. Excisio snarled. "You have been a thorn in my side for far too long!" He shouted. Excisio waved His hand in front of Jerome, causing Jerome to glow in a dark light. Jerome screamed in pain and, when the light faded, fell face first into the ground. His hair had turned brown again, and Paige knew that his eyes would be blue again, too.

After a second Jerome weakly lifted his head and asked "What did you do to me?"

"I destroyed your powers. And now, Defender, you will die!" Excisio blasted His vicious black lightning at Jerome. Paige quickly Orbed Jerome out of the way. The Destroyer snarled and turned to Paige.

"You have been nothing but a nuisance!" He snarled. Excisio turned to Jerome, who had been Orbed a few feet away, and said "Now, watch as the last of your witch friends perishes!" Excisio turned to Paige and blasted her with lightning. Paige screamed in pain as the lightning struck, and fell to the ground, dead.

"NO! PAIGE!" Jerome screamed as loudly as he could. He felt his heart shattering millions of pieces. They say that you never truly realize how important someone or something is until they're gone, and that was true for Jerome right then. Jerome realized just how much Paige meant to him. They all meant something to him, all the Charmed Ones, but Paige especially. At that moment, when Paige was dead, Jerome realized that he loved her. He had no idea how long he had been in love with the Charmed One, but he had been, and he was. And Excisio took the woman he loved and killed her, tore her away from him. Jerome had no one. Paige, the only person he had ever truly been in love with, was dead, and it took her death for him to realize how much he loved her. Piper and Phoebe were his only friends that didn't want something from him. Paul had wanted power, and turned against Jerome the second he couldn't deliver it. Piper and Phoebe were his friends because they wanted to be, because they actually like him for who he was, not what he could give them. And the Destroyer ripped them away from him, too.

Excisio had destroyed the people Jerome loved most. He was sad, so incredibly sad, but underneath all that sadness was rage. Inside Jerome was a rage and fury that burned hotter than enhanced pyrokinesis, and it kept on building. Paige, the woman he loved, died because of his failure. Not anymore. He may have lost her, but she believed in a world where good triumphed over evil, and Jerome was determined to make her dream a reality. His love for Paige and his desire to fulfill her dream gave him strength and resolve. His rage and fury gave him power. Jerome could feel the power building within him, skyrocketing higher, and higher, and higher, until eventually it shot past where his power had been as a Defender, past where it had been when he had Ascended, and soared to a level that Jerome doubted even Excisio could comprehend. He roared, leapt up, and blasted the Destroyer with everything he had. The power that came out of his hands was green lightning, more intense than any lightning Jerome had ever seen or made before. Jerome looked down at his arms and saw that they, too, were green. They glowed in a green light, like Electus glowed gold the first time Jerome had met him.

The Destroyer was sent flying back by the force of Jerome's green lightning. It knocked Him on His back and caused Him to bounce and drag and fly back several miles. When Excisio finally stopped moving he looked up. "How is this possible?" He shouted.

The Tablet had landed on the ground next to Excisio. It was glowing. Excisio looked at it. When he saw the name on that Tablet, he shouted "No! That's not possible!"

There was only one name on the Tablet. The name, glowing in bright green letters, was Jerome.

Author's Note:

I left another cliffhanger, just like last time. Yes, all three Charmed Ones are dead. No, this does not necessarily mean they'll stay dead. It might, it might not. Anyway, how did I do? I was going for epic and awesome, did I succeed? I hope so. I'm thinking there will probably be two, maybe three, more chapters. One last battle scene and one or two epilogue chapters. This story and its prequel have been a ton of fun to write, and in all honesty if it weren't for you readers and reviewers this story would never have become much. I got invited to join NovelJoy because of The Greatest Power. That story would never have made it as far as it did without you guys, and this story wouldn't exist at all. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is, thank you. And, just out of curiosity, which story did you guys like better? This one, or The Greatest Power? Please, leave me a review letting me know, along with any other thoughts you'd like to share in review form.


	36. Chapter 36

And here we are, the final scene to the final battle. Let's see what happens, then, shall we?

Chapter 36:

Jerome had lost the desire for vengeance. He only wished now to bring the Destroyer to justice. The Destroyer had disrupted the balance of the Grand Design in such an extreme, drastic way. He must suffer the consequences. The Destroyer stole the Tablet and changed it. The right to change the Tablet remained with the Grand Architect, and the Architect alone. Excisio must be punished for such blasphemy. He killed the Charmed Ones and... okay, that one was for vengeance. But it was mostly for justice, just with a little vengeance mixed in.

Jerome, however, had no idea how he had gained such power, or why. He turned to Medeis and Electus. Medeis was staring at him, eyes wide and mouth open. Electus was smiling. "What's happened to me?" he asked.

"You have met the necessary requirements for the Grand Architect to choose you as a champion. You are now the Avatar of Might," Electus said.

"No," Jerome said. "I had more power than an Avatar as a Defender. I now have power that even an Ascended One can never possess."

"The Avatars call themselves that because they believe that they are representatives of a new world. You are the Avatar of Might because you are the now the physical manifestation of the powers of the Grand Architect, second only to the Grand Architect himself," Electus said.

"Why me?" Jerome asked.

"I don't know," Electus said. "Only the Grand Architect can know why, but you were chosen. You know what needs to be done; now go!"

Jerome nodded and turned to the Destroyer, who had the Tablet in His hands. He was trying to remove Jerome's name and add His own, but the Tablet wasn't responding to His power. Eventually, the Destroyer threw the Tablet aside, in disgust, and said "This thing must be broken! There is no way that a pathetic Defender like you has as much power as me!"

"You're right," Jerome said. "I have far more."

The Destroyer roared and blasted Jerome with His black lightning. Jerome took the attack. It did nothing, nothing at all. Excisio stepped back and attacked again, throwing more power into this attack. Again, Jerome was completely unaffected. "My turn," Jerome said. Jerome blasted the Destroyer with his own, now green, lightning. The attack, though far less intense than what Jerome could have done, still had enough power to knock the Destroyer on His back. The Destroyer jumped up and shattered several places in the air around Him.

He leapt through one of the holes, which quickly sealed themselves back up. Jerome tried to Flicker, but rather than actual Flickering, Jerome was engulfed in a pillar of brilliant emerald light. The light dropped him off in the Himalayas. The Destroyer was standing in front of him, farther up the mountain they stood on. "You fool!" Excisio yelled. "Behold the power that you face!"

Excisio threw a sphere of dark energy at one of the mountains. As soon as the sphere touched the mountain, the entire mountain exploded, leaving behind nothing where the mountain once had been. Several parts of the nearby mountains had lost pieces in the explosion. Jerome raised an eyebrow. "Here's the power you face," Jerome said. Jerome then created a ball of green energy and threw it at Excisio. The attack hit the Destroyer square in the chest, exploding and knocking Him into the mountain. Literally, into the mountain. Jerome flew off the mountain and caused the entire mountain to collapse on Excisio.

All that was left from Jerome's attack was a pile of rubble. Soon, a beam of dark energy shot from the rubble and completely destroyed all of it. Excisio jumped up and flew up to Jerome. He snarled at Jerome and said "You may have power now, but you cannot defeat me!" Excisio blasted Jerome with black lightning.

Jerome deflected the attack with a flick of his wrist, causing the lightning to hit a nearby mountain. The mountain cracked and collapsed into a pile of rubble. Excisio snarled and tackled Jerome. Jerome was sent to the ground, creating a massive crater on impact. Jerome released a blast of green lightning, sending Excisio flying out of the crater. Jerome flew out of the crater and flew towards the Destroyer. As soon as he got close enough, Jerome kicked the Destroyer in the face, in turn knocking Him to the ground, creating another crater. A burst of dark light came from the crater. When the light faded, the crater was even bigger and lava was quickly rising up into it. The lava shot out of the crater and straight towards Jerome. Jerome quickly moved out of the way and began looking for the Destroyer.

Jerome saw the land shake. Jerome looked towards the crater and saw, through the lava, some dark light. Jerome flew into the crater and through the massive hole. The lava and magma he flew through were scorching hot, but Jerome felt nothing. He continued flying through the magma, and he knew he was well into the Earth's mantle by now. He continued flying, following the occasional flashes of dark light through the mantle and into the outer core. He came to the solid metal inner core and saw a hole going through it.

Jerome went into the hole and saw the Destroyer, throwing black balls of energy farther down the hole. The Destroyer was trying to create a massive tunnel through the center of the Earth. And He was succeeding. Jerome swam in front of Excisio, who looked shocked to see him down there, and alive. Jerome blasted the Destroyer with green lightning, sending Him and a large amount of magma flying through the inner core, through the mantle, and back out of the original crater the Destroyer had made. Jerome quickly shot through the magma and surfaced through that crater. Jerome looked around and saw a ton of lava covering the mountains around him. As he watched, the lava cooled and hardened into stone. Jerome looked around for the Destroyer, but couldn't see Him anywhere.

Jerome felt a blow strike him from behind. He was sent flying into the ground, creating yet another crater. Jerome looked up and saw the Destroyer shooting a beam of dark energy at the ground. Everything the beam touched was instantly destroyed. The beam connected with the crater Jerome was in, and the crater quickly began to fill with lava. The lava quickly cooled, leaving Jerome trapped in a stone tomb. Jerome closed his eyes and focused. He felt his power building, and when it reached a high enough point he released it.

Excisio laughed as the lava cooled over Jerome, trapping him in the stone. The ground where the crater had been began to glow green. Excisio stopped laughing and watched as the ground shattered in a burst of emerald light. Jerome rose out of the ground and, as the light faded, threw a green ball of energy at the Destroyer. The Destroyer blasted His black lightning at the ball. The lightning hit the ball and stopped in from moving. Excisio put more power behind His attack and pushed His lightning, and the ball, towards Jerome. The ball began darkening.

Jerome shot his own green lightning at the incoming attack. The two attacks collided and released a shock wave. The shock wave traveled and it the surrounding mountains and rock, destroying pieces of them. The two lightning attacks were pushing against each other, fighting for dominance, similar to before when Jerome had been Ascended. This time, however, the attack was slowly making its way towards Excisio.

The Destroyer put more power into His attack, but only succeeded in slowly it down slightly. The attack was still making its way towards Excisio. Jerome added more power into his attack and successfully shoved the attack into Excisio. The Destroyer was sent flying back. When He stopped, He waved His hand around, destroying space so He could quickly travel to another location. He flew through the portal, which quickly closed behind Him.

Jerome knew where He had gone. He teleported to where he knew Excisio was, disappearing in a flash of emerald light. Jerome reappeared in Antarctica, right outside of Claustrum. Excisio was floating right above Claustrum, and waved His hand over it. Jerome heard several roars of the monstrous creatures that were trapped in Claustrum. Only now, Jerome had a feeling they were no longer trapped.

Jerome's suspicions proved to be correct when all sorts of monsters flew out of Claustrum. Dragons, chimaeras, hydras, and other hideous monster too horrible to describe flew out of the ancient prison. The creatures all began fighting with each other, until a loud, horrible screeching roar came from the prison. The creatures all fled the area, flying off in every direction. A muscular, scaly arm with razor sharp claws on the end of each finger came out of the prison, quickly followed by another. Jerome saw scaly wings come from the pit. The wings flapped once, aiding the arms in pulling out a head that looked like that of a massive dragon, followed by a massive scaly torso. Massive scaly legs then followed. Lastly came a long, serpentine tail. The monster roared and fixed its wicked red eyes on Jerome.

The monster raised a clawed hand and swiped at Jerome. Jerome flew out of the way, and straight into a ball of dark energy the Destroyer had thrown. The attack sent Jerome flying, into the reach of the monster. The monster grabbed Jerome and threw him to the ground. The monster then stomped on Jerome. Jerome felt the weight of the massive creature crush him into the ground. The pressure suddenly was released and Jerome shot up into the sky. Excisio blasted some black lightning at him. Jerome quickly got out of the way. Jerome then shot his own green lightning at the Destroyer, who dodged it. Jerome was suddenly knocked out of the sky and into the ground. Jerome looked up to see the massive monster looming over him.

The monster opened its mouth and released a stream of intense purple fire. Jerome quickly rolled out of the way and shot green lightning at the monster. The attack made the massive creature reel back, but it quickly regained its balance. Jerome flew up to the creature and blasted it in the face with his green lightning. The creature reeled back again, but again regained its balance fairly quickly. Excisio blasted Jerome with a beam of dark energy, knocking Jerome away. Jerome quickly flew up and over the monster. He floated with the monster to his back and the Destroyer in front of him. Jerome shot a blast of emerald energy at the Destroyer. He dodged the attack, and threw a dark ball of energy at Jerome. Jerome flew out of the way and shot the energy ball with his own emerald lightning. The force of the lightning sped up the energy ball and both it and the lightning hit the monster in the back, hard. The monster roared in pain and fell to the ground. Excisio snarled and tackled Jerome into the monster.

The monster tried to stand back up. It began flapping its wings as it tried to push itself off the ground. Jerome leapt on one of the wings and, as it was going up, used the force of the wing to shoot towards the Destroyer. Jerome tackled the Destroyer, hard, and sent Him flying. Jerome then turned to the monster, ready to end it.

* * *

Electus was dying. Medeis tried before the heal him, but when Excisio's name was on the Tablet, there was nothing she could do. However, she had seen the Tablet, and she saw the Jerome's name had replaced Excisio's. She was willing to try again.

Medeis poured all of her power into healing Electus, into fixing the horrid wound the Destroyer had left. At first, her magic did nothing. However, as time passed and she kept pouring all her might into fixing her love, Electus began to heal. The wound began to seal itself, and the slow destruction of Electus' body was halted and reversed. Medeis, out of power, collapsed. She had done it! She had saved Electus!

Electus sat up and lifted Medeis' chin. "Thank you," he said.

Medeis threw her arms around Electus and pulled him into a tight embrace. There were tears in her eyes. "Oh, Electus! You're okay, you're okay!" she said.

Electus hugged her back and said "Yes, I am. Thanks to you, and thanks to Jerome."

Medeis pulled back, tears of joy streaming down her face. "We owe him our lives," she said. "If you had gone, I don't think I would have survived."

Electus smiled. "Well, I'm alive and healthy, now. Let's not dwell on what could have been," Electus said.

Medeis giggled and kissed Electus. They were both alive, and they were both together.

* * *

Jerome tackled the giant monster, trying to knock it off balance. The monster, however, had learned. It knew not to fall over, and it was going to stay upright. Jerome quickly gave up trying to knock the thing down. He blasted it with intense emerald green lightning. The attack hit the monster in the chest, causing it to stagger, but it still stood, and it was still alive.

Jerome sensed Excisio returning, and he had an idea. Excisio was still the Destroyer, and he could still destroy anything save the Sealing Obelisk. And, now, Jerome. Jerome turned to face Excisio. "Your power is weak," Jerome taunted. "I doubt you have any destruction left in you."

Excisio was oblivious to Jerome's plan, only his taunting. He roared "I am the Destroyer! I am destruction!" He built up a massive ball of dark, destructive energy. The mere radiation of the attack destroyed some of the snow that had begun falling. He threw it at Jerome, putting as much power as He could into it.

Jerome turned around and quickly blasted the monster once more, to get its attention. The monster roared and snapped at Jerome. Jerome quickly flew out of the way, and the monster's head was exactly where Jerome had been. The dark ball of destruction energy hit the monster in the head, completely destroying the head. The blast destroyed several parts of the rest of the monster's body in the resulting shock wave. What remained of the monster fell to the ground, completely lifeless.

Excisio snarled. "You tricked me!" he roared.

"It wasn't particularly difficult," Jerome said.

Excisio roared and blasted Jerome with a beam of dark energy. The attack hit Jerome, but it had no effect. Jerome raised his eyebrow at the Destroyer and said "I'm done playing games."

Jerome attacked the Destroyer with a beam of his own, this one emerald green in color. The attack hit Excisio and sent Him flying back. Excisio, after He stopped moving, snarled and blasted Jerome with another beam of dark energy. Jerome countered this attack with his emerald green energy beam. Jerome's beam tore through the Destroyer's like it was wet tissue paper. The attack knocked the Destroyer down.

The Destroyer looked up at the ex-Defender and realized that He had no chance of victory. Jerome raised his arms and brought them down. Emerald green meteors of energy began falling from the sky. Excisio quickly rose up and started flying, trying to avoid those meteors. He swerved, weaved, and flew around the meteors as they fell. However, despite His efforts, one meteor still struck Him, sending Him spiraling to the ground. Excisio stood up and clutched His side, feeling the pains of true injury for the first time in all of His existence. Jerome landed in front of Him, hands glowing green, and Excisio felt, for the first time in His entire existence, fear.

Jerome threw a ball of emerald energy at the Destroyer. The attack struck, and Excisio was knocking on His back. Pain erupted from where the attack had struck. Excisio sat up, panting, and said "Mercy!"

Jerome, about to strike again, stopped. He frowned and snarled "Mercy? You destroy my people, unleash an force created to destroy the balance of the Grand Design, and completely ruin the balance by killing an Ancient. And you expect mercy?"

"Please," Excisio begged. He had never begged before, never needed to. Not even against the boy's father, or the other Ancients when they sealed Him away. But now here He was, begging for mercy. "Please, have mercy."

Jerome bristled. "Did you show Paige any mercy? Or how about Piper? Phoebe?" Jerome yelled. "No! You didn't! You just killed them!"

"It's in my nature," Excisio argued. "I can do nothing but destroy."

Jerome growled. He turned his back and said "Fine. You want mercy? I'll give you mercy. But know this: you were completely and utterly defeated by my hands, and if the need arises, I will kill you. You are nothing to me."

Excisio, despite the fact that Jerome was willing to let Him live, felt anger rising in Him. He was nothing? He'll show this pathetic Defender nothing! Excisio blasted Jerome with every ounce of power He possessed. All His anger, rage, and hatred fueled His attack. The attack was more intense than any attack Excisio had ever seen, and He had fought in a war of Ancients!

Excisio held the attack for as long as He could. When He was out of power, He collapsed. There was no way that Defender could have survived such an attack, he thought. But, after the smoke cleared, Jerome was standing, emerald green and angry. "I show you mercy and this is how you act?" Jerome shouted. "Then so be it! You have made your choice, and now, you will die!"

Jerome blasted Excisio with every ounce of power he possessed. Jerome kept pouring might and strength into the attack and, when he thought he couldn't add any more, he kept pushing. The blast of emerald energy that Jerome shot out consumed all of the Destroyer. Jerome held the attack until absolutely couldn't hold it any longer. He collapsed. Jerome lifted his head and looked at his arms. They had returned to normal. He felt his power dropping, all the way back to when he was a Defender. Jerome looked at Excisio. The area was still covered in emerald light.

When the light faded Excisio was still there, standing. However, even as Jerome watched, the red in Excisio's eyes faded, and He fell over. The Destroyer was dead.

Author's Note:

So, I'm thinking I'll probably only write one epilogue chapter, and wrap up all the loose ends. So, how was this chapter? I think this was the longest chapter I have ever written. Please, tell me what you thought. I was hoping for epic, but I want to hear it from someone other than myself. I'm not the best person to judge my own work. So, please leave me a review telling me what you thought of this chapter.


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